Puna de Atacama

The Puna de Atacama or Atacama Plateau^[1] is an arid high plateau, in the Andes of northern Chile (15%) and northwest of Argentina (85%).^[2] Geomorphologist Walther Penck based his Grossfalt landform association on Puna de Atacama.^[3]

Puna de Atacama. The Argentinian part is in green and the Chilean in orange.

Salar de Atacama salt flat in the Chilean puna

Cono de Arita, Salta (Argentina)

Salar de Atacama with the volcanoes Pular (L), Cerro Pajonales (center left) and Socompa (R) in the distance. The 1899 border runs through Socompa.

Geography

See also: Central Andean dry puna

The plateau's elevation averages 4,500 m (14,800 ft) above sea level, and it spans an area of 180,000 km² (69,000 sq mi).

In Argentina, Puna's territory is extended in the provinces of Salta, Jujuy, and western Catamarca. In Chile, it is included in the regions of Antofagasta and north-eastern Atacama.^[2]

In December 2023, scientists, for the first time, reported a recently discovered area on the current planet Earth, particularly in the Puna's territory, which may be similar to ancient Earth, and the related environment of the first life forms on Earth - as well as - similar to possibly hospitable conditions on the planet Mars during earlier Martian times.^[4]

International borders

See also: Puna de Atacama dispute

Before the War of the Pacific (1879–1883), the region belonged to Bolivia. In 1898, it was ceded to Argentina in exchange for recognition of Tarija as part of Bolivia. Chile, which had annexed the Litoral Province from Bolivia, declared the exchange illegal. The border was defined in 1899 after the Puna de Atacama dispute. Of the 75,000 km² in dispute, 64,000 (85%) were awarded to Argentina and 11,000 (15%) to Chile.^[2]

See also

• Atacama Desert
• Altiplano
• Altiplano–Puna volcanic complex
• Salar de Atacama
• Salar de Arizaro
• Puna grassland
• Tren a las Nubes
• Salta–Antofagasta railway

References

1. Atacama Plateau article at the Encyclopædia Britannica website
2. (in Spanish) Historia de la relacciones exteriores de la Argentina Archived 2009-12-17 at the Wayback Machine
3. Simons, Martin (1962), "The morphological analysis of landforms: A new review of the work of Walther Penck (1888-1923)", Transactions and Papers (Institute of British Geographers), 31 (31): 1–14, doi:10.2307/621083, JSTOR 621083
4. Strain, Daniel (6 December 2023). "Deep within an inhospitable desert, a window to first life on Earth". University of Colorado. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.

23°27′36″S 67°21′36″W