Gudrun's photos with the keyword: Puna

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.

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.

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.

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