Salar del Huasco | |
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Location | Tarapacá Region, Chile |
Coordinates | 20°18′S 68°51′W / 20.300°S 68.850°W |
Area | 1,100.49 km2 (424.90 sq mi) |
Designation | Ramsar Site (1996) |
Official name | Salar del Huasco |
Designated | 2 December 1996 |
Reference no. | 874[1] |
Salar del Huasco is a salt flat dotted with ponds and salt marshes, and seasonally partially covered with water, in northern Chile. It is part of Ramsar Site 874,[2] and was, for several years, a national park. The area has a significant population of flamingos.[2]
The salt flat is probably bordered by a fault on its western side, and a river delta forms much of its northern edge; it is now crisscrossed by stream channels. In the Pleistocene the salt flat was covered by a lake that was identified through its clay and diatomite sediments and which has left well preserved shorelines and terraces.[3]