- Argentina - Portal público de noticias de la República Argentina.
Both parks extend over a surface of 275,300 hectares across a desert region in the provinces of San Juan and La Rioja. They feature the most complete set of fossil remains known of the triassic period (245 to 208 million years back).
Talampaya (located in La Rioja province) originates in the quechua words “Tala” = indigenous tree, “Ampa” = river, and “Aya” = extinguished thing. Both the fossil finds of reptiles and plants as well as the geological layers analysed are compatible with a period during which the large reptiles covered the earth. The differentially coloured sediments came up to the ground as they rose together with the Andes mountain range.
The erosion caused by wind and water gave shape to the Talampaya canyon that originated in the course of a dry river. It features rocks of strange silhouettes that were given names by popular imagination according to the images they suggested: the monk, the cathedral, the chimney or the chess board.
Carved out from the red soil, immense geological formations rise up from the canyon, the walls of which reach a height of up to 160 meters. The apex of the itinerary – which may be covered in a van – is the Cathedral, of an impressive dimension and rocky walls more than 100 meters high. The imprint of its ancient inhabitants was left behind in the Parque Talampaya, who described their experience of hunting different animals in petroglyphics and picture writing.
The Parque de Ischigualasto or Valle de la Luna (the Moon Valley) is located in San Juan province. The so-called Hoyada de Ischigualasto is a desert valley where extreme temperatures and an almost permanent wind has eroded the soil and modelled natural sculptures. The present landscape was formed by wind, water and other meteorological phenomena, giving rise to strange shapes. This is the case of El Submarino, one of the best known rock sculptures, and El Hongo (the mushroom) and La Esfinge (the sphynx).
