Salar de Atacama, Chile

Continuing on from the Altiplano lagoons, Aacama, here is the last part of my visit to the high plains of the Atacama region of Chile, the Salar de Atacama salt flats.

These flats are rich in salts and minerals that have been mined and harvested, now under a degree of environmental protection. Our guide told us they once teemed with flamingos but those populations were severely depleted because the mining companies raided the flamingo nests for eggs that they used to feed the mining camps, and back then it was common to see trucks loaded with crates of flamingo eggs on the roads. The flamingos are slowly building their numbers up again now.

1.
Salt flats, Salar de Atacama, Altiplano, Chile by Joe Lewit, on Flickr

2.
Salt crust, lagoon and flamingos, Salar de Atacama, Altiplano, Chile by Joe Lewit, on Flickr

3. Andean flamingos with their black feathered rumps.
Lagoon with flamingos, Salar de Atacama, Altiplano, Chile by Joe Lewit, on Flickr

4. Other birds, too.
White rumped Sandpiper, Salar de Atacama, Altiplano, Chile by Joe Lewit, on Flickr

5. A bottle of brine from the lagoon, teeming with brine shrimp on which the flamingos feed. (These were sold dehydrated in envelopes as 'Sea Monkeys' by mail order in the US, in ads often seen on the back covers of comics).
Brine shrimps, flamingo food, Salar de Atacama, Altiplano, Chile by Joe Lewit, on Flickr

6. A fine specimen of Chilean flamingo.
Chilean flamingo wading, Salar de Atacama, Altiplano, Chile by Joe Lewit, on Flickr

7.
Crusted salts, Salar de Atacama, Altiplano, Chile by Joe Lewit, on Flickr

8.
Chilean and Andean flamingos, Salar de Atacama, Altiplano, Chile by Joe Lewit, on Flickr

9. Stirring up food with its beak.
Chilean flamingo feeding, Salar de Atacama, Altiplano, Chile by Joe Lewit, on Flickr

10. And with its foot.
Chilean flamingo profile, Salar de Atacama, Altiplano, Chile by Joe Lewit, on Flickr

11. A mineral rich saline pond, and if you look closely (by enlarging the linked image on Flickr) you can see a small lizard near the right top edge below the island outcrop.
Minerals and algal bloom, Salar de Atacama, Altiplano, Chile by Joe Lewit, on Flickr

12. And here's the Fabian's lizard in close-up.
Fabian's lizard, Salar de Atacama, Altiplano, Chile by Joe Lewit, on Flickr

13. And a farewell shot from Atacama.
Lagoon, flamingos, mountains, Salar de Atacama, Altiplano, Chile by Joe Lewit, on Flickr

Thanks for looking.

Nice continuation of your series. From this set I agree with Michele about nr 3, there is a nice contrast between the sharpness of the birds with the pastel colours in the back so for me this is my favourite.

Wow, great set of a great landscape.