Laguna Miscanti

Coordinates: 23°43′30″S 67°45′54″W / 23.725°S 67.765°W / -23.725; -67.765
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Laguna Miscanti
Laguna Miscanti
Location of Miscanti Lake in Chile.
Location of Miscanti Lake in Chile.
Laguna Miscanti
LocationAntofagasta Region
Coordinates23°43′30″S 67°45′54″W / 23.725°S 67.765°W / -23.725; -67.765
Basin countriesChile
Surface area13.5 km2 (5.2 sq mi)
Surface elevation4,140 m (13,580 ft)[1]

Laguna Miscanti is a

Cerro Miñiques volcano and Cerro Miscanti tower over this lake. This 13.5 square kilometres (5.2 sq mi) large heart-shaped lake has a deep blue colour and developed in a basin formed by a fault. South of Miscanti lies Laguna Miñiques
, another lake which is separated from Miscanti by a lava flow that was emplaced there during the Pleistocene.

The lake is part of one of the seven sectors of Los Flamencos National Reserve. A number of birds and mammals live at the lake, which is a major tourist destination.

Geography

Laguna Miscanti lies in the Central Andes[2] of Chile,[3] east-southeast of the Salar de Atacama. Administratively, it is part of the Antofagasta Region.[4] The closest town is Socaire, 20 kilometres (12 mi) away from the lake.[5] A road departing from the Paso Sico international road goes to Miscanti,[6] which is accessible by an unpaved road and numerous footpaths.[7] In 2002, there were 5,000 tourists at Miscanti and the nearby lake Miñiques,[8] and in 2015, one in three tourists who went to the Los Flamencos National Reserve visited Miscanti and Laguna Miñiques.[9] An archeological site called "Miscanti-1" is found on the southeastern lake shore.[10]

Hydrography and geology

Laguna Miscanti is a maximally 10 metres (33 ft) deep lake with

Cerro Miñiques (5,910 metres (19,390 ft)) lie northeast and south of the lake, respectively.[15]

1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) south of

lava flow erupted from Cerro Miñiques split the lake basin in two.[19][20] A number of creeks enter into Laguna Miscanti from the north, east and south (Quebrada de Chaquisoqui[1]), and there are two springs on its northern shores.[3]

Miscanti and Miñiques occupy

Laguna Lejia also developed along this fault[21] and the fault segment there is also known as Miscanti-Callejon de Varela fault.[24] Volcanoes[21] including Lascar[25] and the Cerros Saltar and Corona north and south of Lascar formed on the fault.[26]

Laguna Miscanti

Hydrology

The

Cordon de Puntas Negras is the principal source of water.[18] Water reaches Laguna Miscanti principally as groundwater,[12] which is directed there by the fault; this may explain why Laguna Miscanti is a permanent lake rather than a playa.[19]

The lake has no surface outflow. Presently, water seeps to Miñiques through a

lava flow[11] along the path of the Quebrada Nacimiento fault;[18] during former lake highstands a combined lake overflowed into the Pampa Varela basin[11] south-southwest of Miñiques.[15] Most water, however, leaves Laguna Miscanti through evaporation.[21] The town of Peine draws its water supply from the Miscanti basin.[27]

Climate

Presently, the regional climate is

arid,[17] with average precipitation amounting to 200–250 mm/a (7.9–9.8 in/year), and cold, with average annual temperatures of 2 °C (36 °F). During winter, ice develops on the lake surface.[11] The lake area is usually a little warmer than the surrounding region.[28] The region lies between areas dominated by summer precipitation in the northeast and areas dominated by winter precipitation in the southwest.[17]

In the late

last glacial maximum was drier[32] and colder, leading to a total disappearance of vegetation[33] and a drying of the lake between 22,000 and 14,000 years ago.[34] During the middle Holocene dry period,[17] the lake may have dried up completely, forming a bog.[12] After about 4,000 years ago, moisture availability increased again,[35] while a moist epoch between 6,500 and 5,000 years ago was temporary.[36] Climate variability influenced human settlement in the region during the Holocene, which took place mainly during wetter periods[37] and became concentrated in several environmentally favourable spaces during dry periods.[16]

Biology

amphipods in the lake waters.[41]

There are

National Forest Corporation.[47]

Gallery

References

  1. ^ a b Niemeyer 1980, p. 202.
  2. ^ Grosjean 2001, p. 35.
  3. ^ a b c Valero-Garcés et al. 1996, p. 3.
  4. ^ "Mapa Minutas Región de Antofagasta" (PDF). ODEPA (in Spanish). Gobierno de Chile. August 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 November 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  5. ^ a b Niemeyer 1980, p. 201.
  6. ^ Servicio Nacional de Turismo (Chile) (23 March 2018). Ruta del Desierto (Report) (in Spanish). p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  7. ^ Corporación Nacional Forestal 2008, p. 88.
  8. ^ Contreras, Juan Pablo (2002). Norte de Chile: conservación de humedales altoandinos para un desarrollo productivo sustentable. Capítulo IV (Report) (in Spanish). p. 128. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  9. ISSN 0719-5532. Archived
    from the original on 22 July 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  10. ^ Núñez et al. 2018, p. 110.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h Grosjean 2001, p. 37.
  12. ^ a b c d e Núñez et al. 2018, p. 112.
  13. ^ Valero-Garcés et al. 1996, p. 6.
  14. ^ Valero-Garcés et al. 1996, p. 2.
  15. ^ a b Grosjean 2001, p. 38.
  16. ^ a b c Núñez et al. 2018, p. 111.
  17. ^ a b c d e Grosjean 2001, p. 36.
  18. ^ a b c d e f Valero-Garcés et al. 1996, p. 4.
  19. ^ a b Valero-Garcés et al. 1999, p. 123.
  20. ^ a b González et al. 2009, p. 9.
  21. ^ a b c d e Valero-Garcés et al. 1999, p. 105.
  22. ^ Aron, Felipe; González, Gabriel; Veloso, Eugenio; Cembrano, José (2008). "Architecture and style of compressive Neogene deformation in the eastern-southeastern border of the Salar de Atacama Basin (22°30'-24°15'S): A structural setting for the active volcanic arc of the Central Andes". 7th International Symposium on Andean Geodynamics: 52. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  23. ISSN 2156-2202
    .
  24. ^ Gardeweg, Sparks & Matthews 1998, p. 100.
  25. S2CID 128528082. Archived
    from the original on 26 February 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  26. ^ Gardeweg, Sparks & Matthews 1998, p. 92.
  27. ISSN 0717-7356
    .
  28. ISBN 978-90-481-6386-1
    .
  29. S2CID 134817135
    .
  30. S2CID 202876663
    .
  31. ^ Núñez et al. 2018, p. 109.
  32. ^ Grosjean 2001, p. 49.
  33. ^ Orellana et al. 2023, p. 7.
  34. ^ Orellana et al. 2023, p. 8.
  35. S2CID 221876416
    .
  36. ^ Orellana et al. 2023, p. 19.
  37. ^ Valero-Garcés et al. 1996, p. 19.
  38. ^ a b Grosjean 2001, p. 39.
  39. ^ Valero-Garcés et al. 1999, p. 117.
  40. ^ Valero-Garcés et al. 1996, p. 10.
  41. ISSN 1568-5403
    .
  42. ^ Niemeyer 1980, p. 203.
  43. ^ a b Corporación Nacional Forestal 2008, p. 53.
  44. ^ Corporación Nacional Forestal 2008, p. 52.
  45. ^ Biodiversidad de Chile : patrimonio y desafíos (Report) (in Spanish). CONAMA. 2008. p. 269. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  46. ^ Aravena, Fernando; Amado, Nelson (May 2014). "Abundancia y reproducción de la tagua cornuda (Fulica cornuta) en la Reserva Nacional Los Flamencos, Región de Antofagasta" (PDF). Sistema de Información de Biodiversidad (in Spanish). Corporación Nacional Forestal. p. 29. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 June 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  47. ^ "SOCAIRE RESISTE Y SE LEVANTA ANTE EL VIOLENTO EMBATE DE INTENSAS Y CONSTANTES LLUVIAS" (Press release) (in Spanish). Ministry of Agriculture. 30 March 2015. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.

Sources

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