Pampa del Tamarugal National Reserve is a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

of northern

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Tarapacá Region The Tarapacá Region ( es, Región de Tarapacá, ) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions. It comprises two provinces, Iquique and Tamarugal. It borders the Chilean Arica and Parinacota Region to the north, Bolivia's Orur ...

located in the

Pampa del Tamarugal Pampa del Tamarugal ("Plateau of the Tamarugal") is a vast plain encompassing a significant portion of the Norte Grande, Chile, and originally named for the '' Prosopis tamarugo'' trees that used to cover its surface. It is located between the par ...

, about east of

Iquique Iquique () is a port city and commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Pampa del Tamarugal, which is part of the Atacama Desert. It has a population of 191, ...

. The reserve consists of three separate sectors: Zapiga, Bosque Nativo de La Tirana, and Pintados. The major highlights are the artificially planted forests of the genus

Prosopis ''Prosopis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It contains around 45 species of spiny trees and shrubs found in subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas, Africa, Western Asia, and South Asia. They often thrive in ari ...

(primarily Prosopis tamarugo), found in the middle of a rainless desert, and the Pintados

geoglyph A geoglyph is a large design or motif (generally longer than 4 metres) produced on the ground by durable elements of the landscape, such as stones, stone fragments, gravel, or earth. A positive geoglyph is formed by the arrangement and alignmen ...

s. The total protected area extends on more than 102,264 hectares. The sectors of Zapiga and Pintados are crossed by the

Pan-American Highway The Pan-American Highway (french: (Auto)route panaméricaine/transaméricaine; pt, Rodovia/Auto-estrada Pan-americana; es, Autopista/Carretera/Ruta Panamericana) is a network of roads stretching across the Americas and measuring about in to ...

and Sector Bosque Nativo de La Tirana can be accessed from A-665 Route.

Sites

Geoglifos de Pintados: Precolumbian culture geoglyphs extended on 2 miles that portrait more than 350 figures representing men, animals and abstract figures. Visit schedule: Mondays to Sundays, from 10:30 AM to 17:30 PM. There is an entrance fee.Atacama Desert sites
Letsgochile.com

References

Reserva Nacional Pampa del Tamarugal
National reserves of Chile Protected areas of Tarapacá Region Atacama Desert {{SouthAm-protected-area-stub

Sites

See also

References