Chile, Atacama Desert, June-July 2011: El Tatio Geysers, Guatin Cactus Forest, Ojos Del Salar, Piedra Lagoon, Lake Tebenquiche
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I was in awe of the beauty of the sun's first rays hitting the mountains around the El Tatio Geysers. |
~~~ To Paul's Dad, Mr. Mekjian, and the handful of people reading this that knew him, I just wanted to say R.I.P. and thank you for the hospitality and supremely delicious Armenian meals. As you can see, one of your many hats in your collection are being put to good use. It was a very nice warm hat, and I used it all throughout Chile, especially at night. Also, for the record, placing Mr. Mekjian's salute close to the words "belching" and "steaming" is purely coincidental.
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Sunrise at 4200m is beautiful, a clearer, bolder sun. But the sunrise also means that the high mountain air will soon warm, and the steam from the geysers will subside. |
El Tatio is the third largest geyser field in the world, after Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and the Valley of the Geysers in the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia. What causes the steam? Magma heats underground rivers. The air from the geysers meets the freezing morning air and immediately condenses. None of the geysers shoot forth like the famous geyser at Yellowstone. These are more sedate, more eerie. |
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No other people were there. Many of our group marinated in the mineral waters of the stream while several of us climbed around on the cliffs above and took photos. In the upper left corner of the photo, you can see our tour bus. But unfortunately, I cannot show you a vizcacha (lagidium viscacia), a funny mix between a bunny, a squirrel, and a kangaroo, but mostly like a bunny. They are timid creatures, and scattered when I made my way down to the stream. |
 If you had magically plopped me down in the middle of this area and told me that it was Ladakh, I would have easily believed you. It looked so much like the high Himalayas of Ladakh. All of it. The algae and grass in the high altitude streams, the tufts of grass, the wind-swept mountains, the frozen grass, and the patches of snow. Gorgeous. |
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I was enchanted by the clouds of steam rising from the stream and the still-frozen tufts of grass along its banks. |  |
 I llove llamas, llu llove llamas. I could, I could make a whole calendar of llama photos. Lles, lles I could. But for this Chile trip, this is the only llama photo llu get. Well, okay, llu get one more, but it's not a real llama. Llu'll see. |
 The tour wasn't quite over. As we descended in elevation, returning from El Tatio, we stopped at the amazing ancient cactus forest of Quebrada de Guatin, not far from San Pedro de Atacama in the valley below. |
 We followed a small stream, leading us through an ancient cactus forest in a rocky canyon to a small series of waterfalls beyond. |
28 junio, martes: I went out to the northern tip of the Atacama salt pan, or Salar de Atacama, to see the Piedra lagoon. Unfortunately, the day was windy, and the waters not still and reflective. |
Ojos del Salar, one of two perfectly round freshwater "eyes" in the Salar de Atacama, both nearly identical in size and shape. Some of the lagoons in this region are so deep that they have not been measured. Local legend has it that some go all the way to the Pacific, many many kilometers away and considerably lower in elevation. |
The day was windy, so any chance of seeing the calm reflective waters of Lago Tebenquiche were dashed. However, the location was beautiful, and the views of the Licanbabur volcano gorgeous. The day ended with us watching the beautiful sunset as we drank pisco sours amidst the strong gusts. |
Ken's photos of Nobel Peace Prize Winner Aung
San Suu Kyi, as well as photos of Peru, Burma, India, Morocco, China, Thailand,
Ghana, Ecuador, and elsewhere, have appeared in many books, magazines,
websites, and galleries. Visit the
Ken Lee Photography Website. Some of Ken's select photos may be
purchased through his
Imagekind Store. |
Chile, Atacama Desert, June-July 2011
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Whoosh! Hiss! A geothermic Dante's Inferno, with fumaroles and such. Some geysers spew forth pillars of steam and smelly mineral water. Others the size of cauldrons bubble. Others hiss like steam kettles.
Sssssssssss!
More fine textures at El Tatio with this close-up of some hardy plants living near the burbling geyser spouts.
Our guide Mauricio took us to a hot water stream not far away from the El Tatio geyser field, but still high up in the altiplano, probably near the same 4200m elevation as the geysers were. 
