Salar del Huasco facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Salar del Huasco National Park |
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| Location | Tarapacá Region, Chile |
| Area | 1,100.49 km2 (424.90 sq mi) |
| Designation | Ramsar Site (1996), National Park (2023) |
| Established | 2023 |
| Official name: Salar del Huasco | |
| Designated: | 2 December 1996 |
| Reference #: | 874 |
The Salar del Huasco is a huge, flat area in northern Chile that looks like a giant salt pan. It has many small ponds and marshy areas, and sometimes parts of it are covered with water. This special place is now the main part of the Salar del Huasco National Park, which was created recently. It's also known as a Ramsar Site, which means it's a really important wetland for nature, especially for birds. Many beautiful flamingos live here!
Long, long ago, during the Pleistocene Ice Age, this salt flat was actually a big lake! You can still see signs of that ancient lake, like old shorelines and flat areas called terraces. Today, small streams flow across the salt flat.
Contents
Animals and Plants of Salar del Huasco
The lagoon and the land around it are part of the Central Andean dry puna ecoregion. This is a dry, high-altitude area in the Andes mountains.
Birds of the Lagoon
The lagoon is a home for many different water birds. These include three types of flamingos:
- Chilean flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis)
- Andean flamingo (Phoenicoparrus andinus)
- James's flamingo (Phoenicoparrus jamesi)
Other birds you might see here are the Andean goose (Chloephaga melanoptera), the Andean gull (Chroicocephalus serranus), and various kinds of ducks.
Land Animals
Around the lagoon, you can find other interesting animals that live on the land. These include:
- The lesser rhea (Rhea pennata), a large bird that cannot fly.
- The vicuña (Lama vicugna), a wild animal related to llamas.
- The culpeo or Andean fox (Lycalopex culpaeus), a type of fox found in the Andes.
- The tuco-tuco (Ctenomys sp.), a small rodent that lives underground.
Salar del Huasco National Park
The Salar del Huasco National Park was officially created in 2023. It covers a large area of about 1100.49 square kilometers (which is about 425 square miles). The park is centered around the Salar del Huasco itself. It also includes two tall mountains that are over 4,500 meters (about 14,760 feet) high. The park was made to protect the unique plants and animals of the salt flat. It also helps to preserve the amazing high-altitude landscape of the Andes mountains around it.
See also
- In Spanish: Salar de Huasco para niños
