Photo Gallery

At the Salar de Ascotán in northern Chile. It is situated in the Antofagasta Region at an extreme altitude of around 3,716 metres above sea level – nestled within the breathtaking scenery of the Altiplano. The vegetation differs drastically from that of the surrounding desert. Whilst the surrounding area is dominated by shrubs, special perennial grasses and herbs grow right on the edge of the salar. The volcano in the background is (presumably) San Pedro (6,145 m). – Chile – 1976

Rock paintings at Taira on the Río Loa in the Atacama Desert, northern Chile. These engraved and painted depictions of llamas are attributed to the Neolithic Atacameños. - Book: Picture 41 - Chile - 1976

The Quebrada Talabre in the Antofagasta region of Chile, with the Láscar volcano visible in the background. In the barren gorge, the traditional terraced fields, planted with greenery, and the stone enclosures – which were supplied with water via irrigation channels from the river – are clearly visible. In the same area lies the Quebrada Kezala, famous for its open-air museum featuring around 200 ancient rock engravings. – Chile – 1976

The Pukará de Lasana is a pre-Columbian residential and refuge fortress built by the Atacameños in the 12th century. The ruins of these impressive stone structures stretch along the cliffs directly above the lush green valley floor of the Río Loa (in the middle ground). The combination of the barren canyon walls, the agricultural terraces (andenes) in the valley and the Andean peaks in the background makes this site a unique cultural monument in northern Chile. The twin volcanoes of San Pedro (6,145 metres) and, right next to it, San Pablo (6,092 metres) dominate the horizon. A little further east lie the peaks of Cerro Paniri (5,960 m) and the Cerros de Tocorpuri volcanic complex. – Chile – 1976

Pucará de Lasana, an abandoned Atacameño village on the Río Loa in the Atacama Desert, Chile. The Atacameños practised terraced farming with artificial irrigation and built their dwellings close together so as not to waste the barren arable land. - Book: Picture 53 - Chile - 1976

As a high-altitude, cold desert, the Puna de Atacama is one of the most inhospitable regions on Earth. Bare rock and sand, lava flows and volcanoes characterise this forbidding yet impressive landscape. - Book: Picture 161 - Chile - 1976

The photograph shows a section of the old, unpaved tracks on the plateau east of Calama, between the famous oasis of San Pedro de Atacama and the historic Atacameño village of San Francisco de Chiu Chiu, which was a strategically important stop on the Inca Trail (Camino del Inca), as the river, with its flowing water, represents one of the few lifelines in the midst of the utterly inhospitable, grey Atacama Desert. – Chile – 1976

To the east of the oasis town of San Pedro de Atacama, the striking Licancabur volcano (5,916 m) rises on the border between Chile and Bolivia in the Atacama Desert. At its summit lies one of the highest crater lakes in the world. Historical ruins also bear witness to the fact that the volcano was a sacred site for the Incas. To the right of Licancabur, the slightly lower Juriques volcano can be seen. – Chile – 1976

Evening atmosphere over the Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon) in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. The valley lies about 13 kilometres west of San Pedro de Atacama and forms part of the Los Flamencos National Reserve. The scene is characterised by sculptural formations of sand and salt rock, shaped by erosion and reminiscent of a lunar landscape. The Licancabur volcano can be seen in the background. – Chile – 1976

The Río San Pedro de Inacaliri (often simply called the Río San Pedro) has carved this canyon into the high plateau of the Chilean Puna. The striking, block-like cliffs consist of thick ignimbrite deposits (volcanic pyroclastic flow sediments). In the background rises the Palpana volcano. It is a massive stratovolcano, approximately 6,040 metres high, in the Chilean Andes near the border with Bolivia. – Chile – 1976

The Valle de Marte (also known as the Valle de la Muerte, or Valley of Death, or Mars Valley) near San Pedro de Atacama in the Chilean Atacama Desert. The valley is characterised by rugged, reddish rock formations of the Cordillera de la Sal, deep gorges, sandy slopes and structures heavily shaped by wind and tectonic activity. In the background lies the barren desert landscape with the striking volcanic cones of the Andes, some of which are snow-capped. On the right is the dominant, almost perfectly conical stratovolcano Licancabur (5,916 metres high). It lies exactly on the geographical border between Chile and Bolivia. Immediately to its right is the slightly lower neighbouring volcano, Juriques (5,704 metres). In the centre are the Cerros de Tocorpuri and, on the far left, the San Pedro volcano. – Chile – 1976

Typical landscape along the unpaved gravel road linking the oasis town of San Pedro de Atacama with the El Tatio geysers in northern Chile. This route takes you to an extreme altitude of over 4,000 metres. Vegetation is almost entirely non-existent due to the extreme aridity of the Atacama Desert and the cold. In the background, you can see the volcanic Andean Cordillera, which stretches along the Chilean-Bolivian border, including the striking, partly still active Putana volcano (5,890 m), which rises directly behind the El Tatio geyser field. Cerro Tatio (5,208 m) gives the region its name. In the ancient Kunza language, the word means ‘The Weeping Grandfather’. Or the mighty Tocorpuri volcanic complex (5,808 m) right on the border, whose slopes you pass by whilst driving. – Chile – 1976

In the vicinity of the world-famous El Tatio geyser field in the Chilean Andes. The typical mineral crusts and outflows resulting from geothermal activity can be seen, set against the backdrop of the cold, barren Altiplano plateau, which is surrounded by volcanoes and mountains. – Chile – 1976

On the way to the El Tatio geysers, you pass the Vado del Río Putana wetland (Putana River Valley), where the riverbeds are frozen solid in winter. In the background, you can see the Putana volcano. – Chile – 1976

The El Tatio geyser field in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, situated at an altitude of around 4,200 metres. It is one of the highest geyser fields in the world. Activity is at its peak in the early morning (between 6.00 and 8.00 am), as this is when the temperature differences are greatest and the steam from the geysers rises most vigorously. The volcano in the background is the dormant stratovolcano Tatio (5,198 m). It lies directly on the border between Chile and Bolivia and forms part of the larger Tocorpuri volcanic complex. The name Tatio comes from the ancient Kunza language (Tata-iu) and translates as ‘the weeping grandfather’. It refers to the shape of the mountain range, which, from a distance, resembles the profile of an elderly man lying down. – Chile – 1976

The rhyolite lava flows in the Chilean Puna de Atacama are associated with major tectonic fault lines striking in a north-south direction. The Tatio geysers, whose hot water vapour condenses in the cold high-altitude air, provide evidence that magmatic flow is present at shallow depths. It is rainwater that has seeped into the ground, heated up at depth and, due to the resulting pressure, is ejected either continuously or at regular intervals. - Book: Picture 162 - Chile - 1976

The huge copper smelter and industrial facilities at the Chuquicamata copper mine in the Chilean Atacama Desert. In the foreground, settling ponds (thickening tanks) and extensive processing areas can be seen, whilst in the background, smoking chimneys and the barren slopes of the desert mountains rise up. Chuquicamata (often called ‘Chuqui’) belongs to the Chilean state-owned mining company Codelco and has shaped global copper production for over a century. – Chile – 1976

The photograph shows a vast, arid plain with sparse desert vegetation and a barren mountain range in the background, across which a freight train is travelling in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. – South of Copiapó – Chile – 1975