Miscanti Lagoon
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Laguna Miscanti is a
brackish water Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuary ...
lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
located in the
altiplano The Altiplano (Spanish language, Spanish for "high plain"), Collao (Quechuan languages, Quechua and Aymara language, Aymara: Qullaw, meaning "place of the Qulla people, Qulla") or Andean Plateau, in west-central South America, is the most extens ...
of the
Antofagasta Region The Antofagasta Region (, ) is one of Chile's Administrative divisions of Chile, sixteen first-order administrative divisions. Being the second-largest region of Chile in area, it comprises three provinces, Antofagasta Province, Antofagasta, El ...
in northern
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
. Cerro Miñiques volcano and Cerro Miscanti tower over this lake. This 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 Los Flamencos National Reserve is a nature reserve located in the commune of San Pedro de Atacama, Antofagasta Region of northern Chile. The reserve covers a total area of in the Central Andean dry puna ecoregion and consists of seven separate se ...
. A number of birds and mammals live at the lake, which is a major tourist destination.


Geography

Laguna Miscanti lies in the Central
Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...
of Chile, east-southeast of the
Salar de Atacama Salar de Atacama, located south of San Pedro de Atacama, is the largest Salt pan (geology), salt flat in Chile. It is surrounded by mountains and lacks drainage outlets. To the east, it is enclosed by the main chain of the Andes, while to the wes ...
. Administratively, it is part of the
Antofagasta Region The Antofagasta Region (, ) is one of Chile's Administrative divisions of Chile, sixteen first-order administrative divisions. Being the second-largest region of Chile in area, it comprises three provinces, Antofagasta Province, Antofagasta, El ...
. The closest town is Socaire, away from the lake. A road departing from the Paso Sico international road goes to Miscanti, which is accessible by an unpaved road and numerous footpaths. The inhabitants of Socaire used the area for grazing, and it bears spiritual and religious importance for them. In 2002, there were 5,000 tourists at Miscanti and the nearby lake Miñiques, and in 2015, one in three tourists who went to the
Los Flamencos National Reserve Los Flamencos National Reserve is a nature reserve located in the commune of San Pedro de Atacama, Antofagasta Region of northern Chile. The reserve covers a total area of in the Central Andean dry puna ecoregion and consists of seven separate se ...
visited Miscanti and Laguna Miñiques. An archeological site called "Miscanti-1" is found on the southeastern lake shore.


Hydrography and geology

Laguna Miscanti is a maximally deep lake with clear
brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...
water which covers a surface area of ; the lake has the shape of an arrowhead with a peninsula jutting from the northern shore. A lava flow separates the otherwise flat lake floor into two basins. In the Atacama Altiplano, Laguna Miscanti is among the biggest waterbodies. The mountains Cerro Miscanti () and Cerro Miñiques () lie northeast and south of the lake, respectively. south of the lake is another waterbody, Laguna Miñiques. In the past, the two lakes were connected, producing a large waterbody which has left beach terraces in the landscape and whose water levels were about higher than today. The separation of the lakes probably occurred during the
Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...
, when a
lava flow Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...
erupted from Cerro Miñiques split the lake basin in two. A number of creeks enter into Laguna Miscanti from the north, east and south (Quebrada de Chaquisoqui), and there are two
spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a he ...
s on its northern shores. Miscanti and Miñiques occupy fault-bound basins; the Quebrada Nacimiento fault is also known as the Miscanti Fault and is part of a
detachment fault A detachment fault is a gently dipping normal fault associated with large-scale extensional tectonics. Detachment faults often have very large displacements (tens of km) and juxtapose unmetamorphosed hanging walls against medium to high-grade me ...
system east of the
Salar de Atacama Salar de Atacama, located south of San Pedro de Atacama, is the largest Salt pan (geology), salt flat in Chile. It is surrounded by mountains and lacks drainage outlets. To the east, it is enclosed by the main chain of the Andes, while to the wes ...
, which separates the Western Cordillera from the Cordillera Domeyko. This fault extends from the Purico complex, Llano de Chajnantor to Miñiques and has formed a ridge, which has dammed lava flows from Cerro Miscanti and Cerro Miñiques. The basins developed during the
Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...
; Laguna Lejia also developed along this fault and the fault segment there is also known as Miscanti-Callejon de Varela fault. Volcanoes including
Lascar A lascar was a sailor or militiaman from the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Arab world, British Somaliland or other lands east of the Cape of Good Hope who was employed on European ships from the 16th century until the mid-20th centur ...
and the Cerros Saltar and Corona north and south of Lascar formed on the fault.


Hydrology

The
catchment A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, th ...
of the lake consists mainly of volcanic and sedimentary rocks ranging from
Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...
to
Holocene The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...
age and covers a surface area of , with
Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...
volcanoes that reach elevations of . The Cordon de Puntas Negras is the principal source of water. Water reaches Laguna Miscanti principally as
groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and Pore space in soil, soil pore spaces and in the fractures of stratum, rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available fresh water in the world is groundwater. A unit ...
, which is directed there by the fault; this may explain why Laguna Miscanti is a permanent lake rather than a playa. The lake has no surface outflow. Presently, water seeps to Miñiques through a
lava flow Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...
along the path of the Quebrada Nacimiento fault; during former lake highstands a combined lake overflowed into the Pampa Varela basin south-southwest of Miñiques. Most water, however, leaves Laguna Miscanti through
evaporation Evaporation is a type of vaporization that occurs on the Interface (chemistry), surface of a liquid as it changes into the gas phase. A high concentration of the evaporating substance in the surrounding gas significantly slows down evapora ...
. The town of Peine draws its
water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Th ...
from the Miscanti basin.


Climate

Presently, the regional climate is
arid Aridity is the condition of geographical regions which make up approximately 43% of total global available land area, characterized by low annual precipitation, increased temperatures, and limited water availability.Perez-Aguilar, L. Y., Plata ...
, with average precipitation amounting to , and cold, with average annual temperatures of . During winter, ice develops on the lake surface. The lake area is usually a little warmer than the surrounding region. The region lies between areas dominated by summer precipitation in the northeast and areas dominated by winter precipitation in the southwest. In the late
Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...
and early Holocene the climate was much wetter and lakes expanded, especially during the first stage of the Central Andean Pluvial Event. The late Pleistocene—early Holocene wet period was particularly noticeable in the
Altiplano The Altiplano (Spanish language, Spanish for "high plain"), Collao (Quechuan languages, Quechua and Aymara language, Aymara: Qullaw, meaning "place of the Qulla people, Qulla") or Andean Plateau, in west-central South America, is the most extens ...
, where two separate phases of the Lake Tauca occurred. The
last glacial maximum The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), also referred to as the Last Glacial Coldest Period, was the most recent time during the Last Glacial Period where ice sheets were at their greatest extent between 26,000 and 20,000 years ago. Ice sheets covered m ...
was drier and colder, leading to a total disappearance of vegetation and a drying of the lake between 22,000 and 14,000 years ago. During the middle Holocene dry period, the lake may have dried up completely, forming a
bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...
. After about 4,000 years ago, moisture availability increased again, while a moist epoch between 6,500 and 5,000 years ago was temporary. Climate variability influenced human settlement in the region during the Holocene, which took place mainly during wetter periods and became concentrated in several environmentally favourable spaces during dry periods.


Biology

Widgeonweed grows at the lakeshores, while the algae
charophyte Charophyta () is a paraphyletic group of freshwater green algae, called charophytes (), sometimes treated as a division, yet also as a superdivision. The terrestrial plants, the Embryophyta emerged deep within Charophyta, possibly from terres ...
s and '' Chara'' and the water plant ''
Myriophyllum ''Myriophyllum'' (water milfoil) is a genus of about 69 species of freshwater aquatic plants, with a cosmopolitan distribution. The centre of diversity for ''Myriophyllum'' is Australia with 43 recognized species (37 endemic). These submersed aq ...
'' grow in the lake. During its highstands, algal bioherms and stromatolithes developed in the water.
Diatom A diatom (Neo-Latin ''diatoma'') is any member of a large group comprising several Genus, genera of algae, specifically microalgae, found in the oceans, waterways and soils of the world. Living diatoms make up a significant portion of Earth's B ...
s and
ostracode Ostracods, or ostracodes, are a class of the Crustacea (class Ostracoda), sometimes known as seed shrimp. Some 33,000 species (only 13,000 of which are extant) have been identified,Brandão, S.N.; Antonietto, L.S; Nery, D.G.; Santos, S.G.; Karano ...
s have been identified in the lake sediments, and
amphipod Amphipoda () is an order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods () range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 10,700 amphipod species cur ...
s in the lake waters. There are
meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable con ...
s consisting of '' Fabiana'', ''
Festuca ''Festuca'' (fescue) is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the grass family Poaceae (subfamily Pooideae). They are evergreen or herbaceous perennial tufted grasses with a height range of and a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on ...
'' and '' Stipa chrysophylla'' around the lake, with sparser vegetation found on the upland, consisting of ''
Baccharis ''Baccharis'' is a genus of perennial plant, perennials and shrubs in the Asteraceae, aster family (Asteraceae). They are commonly known as baccharises but sometimes referred to as "brooms", because many members have small thin leaves resembling ...
'' species also known as "tolar" and ichu. Fauna that inhabits the area includes birds like
flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes () are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbe ...
s, '' Fulica ardesiaca'' (Andean coot), '' Fulica cornuta'' (Horned coot), '' Larus serranus'' (Andean gull), '' Lophonetta speculiarioides'' (Crested duck) and '' Podiceps occipitalis'' (silvery grebe), and mammals like '' Ctenomys opimus'' (Highland tuco-tuco), '' Lagidium viscacia'' (Southern viscacha), ''
Phyllotis darwini Darwin's leaf-eared mouse (''Phyllotis darwini'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It has terrestrial habits and is endemic to coastal central and northern Chile. It is also found in the Atacama Desert The Atacama Desert () ...
'' (Darwin's leaf-eared mouse), ''
Pseudalopex culpaeus The culpeo (''Lycalopex culpaeus''), also known as Culpeo zorro, Andean zorro, Andean fox, Paramo wolf, Andean wolf,Comparative ecology of two South American foxes, 'Dusicvon ariseus' and 'Culpaeus' by Warren E. Johnson. Doctoral dissertation. Io ...
'' (culpeo) and ''
Vicugna vicugna ''Lama'' is a genus containing the South American camelids: the wild guanaco and vicuña and the domesticated llama, alpaca, and the extinct chilihueque. Before the Spanish conquest of the Americas, llamas, alpacas, and chilihueques were the o ...
'' (vicuña); the two lakes are important
breeding Breeding is sexual reproduction that produces offspring, usually animals or plants. It can only occur between a male and a female animal or plant. Breeding may refer to: * Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and rab ...
sites for the horned coot. Laguna Miscanti and Laguna Miñiques are part of the third sector of the
Los Flamencos National Reserve Los Flamencos National Reserve is a nature reserve located in the commune of San Pedro de Atacama, Antofagasta Region of northern Chile. The reserve covers a total area of in the Central Andean dry puna ecoregion and consists of seven separate se ...
, and are jointly administered by the community of Socaire and by the
National Forest Corporation The National Forest Corporation or CONAF (Corporación Nacional Forestal) is a Chilean State-owned private non-profit organization, through which the Chilean state contributes to the development and sustainable management of the country's forest ...
.


Gallery

File:Laguna Miscanti (Antofagasta, Chile) 01.jpg, link=, alt= File:Laguna Miscanti (Antofagasta, Chile) 02.jpg, link=, alt= File:Laguna Miscanti by S. Rossi.jpg, link=, alt= File:Laguna Miscanti, Chile, 2016-02-08, DD 13.JPG, link=, alt= File:Laguna Miscanti, Chile, 2016-02-08, DD 45.JPG, link=, alt= File:Laguna-Miscanti.jpg, link=, alt=


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * * {{commons category, Laguna Miscanti Miscanti, Laguna Miscanti