The San Francisco Pass is a pass over the

Andes mountains The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long and wide (widest between 18°S ...

which connects

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

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 ...

. The highest point of this pass is at

AMSL Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level v ...

Location

The pass is located at and connects the Argentine province of Catamarca with the Atacama Region in Chile. In the Argentine side, route N 60 ascends from Fiambala at AMSL in a deep valley formed by mountains. In the last sinuous , the route climbs from about in Las grutas to more than at the border. On the Chilean side the route CH-31 connects

Copiapó Copiapó () is a List of cities in Chile, city and communes of Chile, commune in northern Chile, located about 65 kilometers east of the coastal List of towns in Chile, town of Caldera, Chile, Caldera. Founded on December 8, 1744, it is the capi ...

with the ChileanArgentine border. On the way it passes next to Maricunga's salt flat on the Nevado Tres Cruces National Park and Laguna Verde. The area is surrounded by

volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...

es and high peaks as the Cerro Falso Azufre (), the volcano

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

(), the Incahuasi () and highest volcano in the world,

Nevado Ojos del Salado Nevado Ojos del Salado is a dormant complex volcano in the Andes on the Argentina–Chile border. It is the highest volcano on Earth and the highest peak in Chile. The upper reaches of Ojos del Salado consist of several overlapping lava domes ...

(), among others.

Gallery

File:Paso San Francisco 2.jpg File:Paso San Francisco 3.jpg File:Ruta 60 Argentina Paso san Francisco.jpg

References

Argentina–Chile border crossings Mountain passes of Chile Mountain passes of Argentina Mountain passes of the Andes Landforms of Atacama Region Landforms of Catamarca Province {{Atacama-geo-stub

Location

Gallery

See also

References