Altiplano

Tren a las Nubes circles round this abandoned gold mine at 4144m. Coming back from Viaducto de Polvorilla the train stops at the station to shunt the locomotive for the descent to Salta.

Tren a las Nubes is run as a tourist train from Salta (1187m) to Viaducto de la Polvorilla (4188m). It uses part of the Salta-Antofagasta railway line which used to connect both towns. Passenger trains ran until 1981, after that only freight trains used the track. The line was designed by American engineer Richard Fontaine Maury, construction started in 1921 and was finally finished in 1948. On the Tren a las Nubes section there are 2 horseshoe curves, 2 zig zags, 29 bridges, 13 viaducts and 21 tunnels.

Ruta 52 through Salinas Grandes. Salinas Grandes lies at 3450m, is 212 km² large and has a 30 cm thick salt crust. See inset photo for a different version.

Salinas Grandes lie in the northeastern corner of Argentina at a height of ca. 3450m. They cover 212 km² and are traditionally mined for salt. Recent explorarion for lithium has led to conflict with the indigenous population whose water supplies are threatened by mining. Die Salinas Grandes liegen im Nordosten Argentiniens auf 3450m Höhe und erstrecken sich über 212 km². Traditionell wird dort Kochsalz abgebaut. Kürzliche Erkundungen wegen Lithiumabbaus haben zu Konflikten mit der indigenen Bevölkerung geführt, deren (Grund-)Wasservorräte dadurch gefährdet sind.

Espinazo del Diablo (the devil's backbone) rises to above 4000m near Tres Cruces, Jujuy, in the far north of Argentina. It is a colourful formation of sedimentary folds, formed in the Tertiary period above older rocks of Paleozoic and Mesozoic origin. This outcrop, known as Santa Barbara subgroup is made up of sedimentary rocks of continental origin, loam, sandy loam and calcareous claystones with frequent fossil remains of algae. EXIF: 1/100 • f/8.0 • 57.0 mm • ISO 100/ Canon EOS 350D/18.0-200.0 mm

EXIF: 1/250 • f/9.0 • 47.0 mm • ISO 100/ Canon EOS 350D/ 18.0-200.0 mm stitched from 21 verticals Laguna Miscanti lies at 4140m in the Chilean Altiplano and is part of Reserva Nacional Los Flamencos . It is a brackish lake (fed only by rain and groundwater) that was separated from neighbouring Laguna Miñiques by a lava flow. See notes and insets! Volcanes Chiliques y Miscanti Volcán Miñiques

A few of the hundreds of fumaroles, hot springs, geysers etc. in El Tatio Geyser Field. It is the 3rd largest (after Yellowstone and Kamchatka) and together with neighbouring Sol de Mañana (Bolivia) the highest in the world. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Tatio One of the hot springs is used by tour guides for warming milk for breakfast

Das Geysirfeld von El Tatio liegt westlich des Andenhauptkamms auf ca. 4300m Höhe. Es ist Teil des Altiplano.-Puna- Vulkankomplexes und das größte Geysirfeld der südlichen Hemisphäre, nach Yellowstone und Kamchatka das drittgrößte weltweit. Vor allem morgens zu Sonnenaufgang sind nach den bis zu -20°C kalten Nächten die Dampfsäulen der mehr als 100 Geysire, heißen Quellen, Schlammquellen etc. gut zu sehen. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Tatio en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altiplano%E2%80%93Puna_volcanic_complex

El Tatio geyser field lies at over 4300m in the Chilean Altiplano. It has around 110 springs and geysers of which 30 are permanently erupting. El Tatio is part of the Altiplano-Puna volcanic complex.(APVC) and the largest geyser field in the Southern hemisphere, the third largest worldwide after Yellowstone and Kamchatka. HWW!

Termas de Polloquere are sulphurous hot springs (~60°C) in Salar de Surire, a 144km² salt flat at 4250 m in the far north of Chile. The high mountain in the background of the main photo is Cerro Lliscaya (5580m) which demarcates the border to Bolivia. Salar de Surire is protected as a monumento natural (lowest level of protection because of lithium mining) and is also an important Ramsar wetland. Together with Lauca National Park and Reserva Nacional Las Vicunas it is part of UNESCO's Lauca Biosphere Reserve. www.conaf.cl/parque_nacionales/monumento-natural-salar-de-surire The volcanoes in the note are Arintica (5590m) and Puquintica (5760m), the latter has the Bolivian border running through it.

Salar de Surire is situated at 4245m near the border to Bolivia. It is part of UNESCO's Lauca Biosphere Reserve and a Ramsar Wetland . Nevertheless it is only listed as a Monumento Natural (the lowest level of protection) by the Chilean authorities because of Lithium mining. EXIF: 1/160 • f/9.0 • 31.0 mm • ISO 100/ Canon EOS 350D/ 18.0-200.0 mm stitched from 21 verticals

Salar de Surire is ringed by volcanoes and lies at 4250m in the far north of Chile, just across the border from Bolivia. It is home (among others) to all 3 Chilean species of flamingo, to vicuña, viscacha, ñandú (suri) and puma. The western part of the salar is used for Lithium mining. www.conaf.cl/parque_nacionales/monumento-natural-salar-de-surire Cerro Chuquiananta (5559m)

Guallatiri (6071m) ist nach Ojos del Salado (6883m) und Llullaillaco (6739m) der dritthöchste aktive Vulkan weltweit. Alle drei sind Teil des Anden-Hauptkamms. Die beiden letzteren liegen auf der Grenze zwischen Chile und Argentinien, Guallatiri ganz im Norden Chiles nahe der Grenze zu Bolivien. Der Stratovulkan ist von einem schrumpfenden Gletscher bedeckt und hat aktive Fumarolen. Im ersten PiP ist deutlich ein alter Lavafluss zu erkennen. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guallatiri von Westen von Süden

Viscachas look a bit like rabbits with a long tail but are actually related to Chinchillas. They live in rock cracks or caves in the Andes/ Altiplano at an altitude of up to 5000m. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagidium de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasenm%C3%A4use The rangers at Salar de Surire sometimes feed them with biscuits;-)

Parinacota (6336m) is the southermost peak of the Nevados de Payachatas range. It is here seen from Lago Chungarà, one of the world's highest lakes at 4517m. In the foreground are the typical Altiplano wetlands ("bofedales").

In thinly populated SW Bolivia filling stations are very rare. Cars need to carry their petrol on the roof, refuelling is done as seen in the photo. After 3 days of bumpy tracks one of the canisters started leaking and needed to be emptied.

Supposedly Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid were shot and buried in San Vicente, a zinc and silver mining town situated at 4498m in SW Bolivia. The "shot" part might be true, but the supposed grave turned out to be that of a German mining engineer. content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1951085,00.html Deutsch: de.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Vicente_(Potos%C3%AD) HFF everybody!

San Antonio del Nuevo Mundo was a mining town which at its peak in the 17th century had about 150.000 inhabitants. It is said that even in precolumbian times the Inca mined there for silver. When water repeatedly flooded the mine shafts the town and mines were given up. Though an enormous amount of silver is said to remain in the mountain the altitude and remote location make mining uneconomical. The mountain in the background is the lower (>5900m) of the twin peaks of Cerro Lípez, a 5929 m high stratovolcano. San Antonio del Nuevo Mundo war eine Bergwerksstadt, die zu ihren besten Zeiten im 17. Jh ca. 150.000 EInwohner hatte. Vermutlich wurde dort schon in vorkolumbianischen Zeiten von den Inka SIlber abgebaut.Wegen wiederholter Wassereinbrüche wurden Stadt und Minen aufgegeben, es sollen aber noch gewaltige Mengen an Silber im Berg sein. Wegen der Höhe und sehr abgelegenen Lage ist der Abbau derzeit nicht wirschaftlich. Der Berg im HIntergrund ist der niedrigere der Doppelgipfel des Vulkans Cerro Lípez (5929m), der aber auch noch mehr als 5900m hoch ist.