We went to San Juan specifically to see the Lunar Valley . 300 kilometers away from San Juan Capital City, is the "Parque Nacional Ischigualasto" (Ischigualasto National Park) also known as the "Valle de la Luna" (Valley of the Moon). It is a clay formation with a great variety of colors and shapes, slopes with many layers of minerals and sediments that let you clearly see the evolution of Earth.
It used to be totally covered in water....70 million years ago, but is now desert landscape. Ischigualasto, means "Place where the Moon alights"in Quechua language (a native latin american language). All through the tour, as you ride along the path, you find formations such as "El gusano"(the worm) , "La Esfinge" (The Sphinx), "El Submarino"(the submarine), "El Hongo"(the mushroom), and the fallen "Lámpara de Aladino" (aladdin´s lamp).
You can see how the constant erosion on the clay layers leave vertebrate fosile rests, as well as flora from the Secondary Era, turning it into one of the most important paleontologic beds of the world. It was proclaimed a Natural Heritage to Humanity by UNESCO in 2000 and is now under strict preservation. Dinosaurs, a wide variety of reptiles and also petrified trees were discovered undamaged and there has since been an important element to preserve them. The formation of "Valle de la Luna" was due to the fact that abundant rains flooded the plains & made up huge amounts of mud which buried animals and plants. This then protected them from the rotting caused by the air. The coolest bit was "La Cancha de Bochas", these are spheres perfectly polished on the ground. The phenomenon of their formation is not clearly explained, it seems that different particles of sediments have come together by means of molecular attraction generating these bowls. The smaller the rounder rock is, the older it is.
Thats todays science lesson over kids hope ye enjoyed! More thumbnails ...
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