Last weekend we discovered a whole new side of Argentina and traveled up towards the San Juan and La Rioja province, destination: parks Talampaya and Ischigualasto! Next to wonderful landscapes, both parks are also excellent places to learn more about how the earth evolved millions of years ago, and what the early inhabitants were like.
The landscapes are literally out of this world and change from dark and obscure, over as grey as the moon to red like Mars. This is not a surprise, since tectonic plate movement has laid bare not less than 7 different earth layers here, each dating back to their own era and with a totally different composition. We also got to know that Buenos Aires used to lie next to Cape Town. This was before the South American plate separated from the African one, and before the Andes* was even born.
Because these 7 layers are out in the open here, the parks are like a treasure chest to discover what earth has to offer. Argentina is one of the top 3 countries in the world where the most (variety in) dinosaur fossils have been discovered (next to North America and China). Paleontologists in the park say that not a month goes by without new discoveries being done!
*The Andes was formed when the South American plate separated from the African one, drifted away and clashed with the Nazca plate that lies to its left.
