Geolocical Magic – Illustrated Promenade in the bolivian Sud – West
No architecture nor art history in this article. Just a reminder that beauty, inspiration and colors are present in the landscape more than anywhere.
The salar of Uyuni and the landscapes of the Sud-Lipez are located in the South-West of Bolivia, close to the border with Chile. A lot of agences propose 3 or 4 days tours to discover this extraordinary landscapes. The altitude variated between 3600m and 5000m above the see level.
The city of Uyuni built in the gates of the desertThe train’s cimetery of Uyuni. Old steam machines and wagons destinated to transport minerals were abandonned in the desert, after this way of transportation was no profitable enough. The salar of Uyuni : the bigest desert of salt in the world with more than 10 000 km2 wide and an average of 80 meters depth. The presence of salt is due to the disappearance of prehistoric Lake Tauca, 14 000 years ago. The salar contains importance ressources for the locals witch recolt the salt and exploit different minerals- the salar contains half of the planet’s lithium resources.In some places on the salar air and water come out to the surface. In March, a small thickness of rainwater sometimes covers the desert, which can transform part of the immense surface into a water mirror.Lagunes on the road to San PedroLaguna of the Sud LipezThe lagune, the white beach is no salt but a mineral used to produce glass.Laguna Colorada. The red color comes from the micto alguas aten by the flamengos.The tree stone consists of solidified lava which probably infiltrated into a cavity. Over the next centuries, the less dense, nearby rocks have been disaggregating under the effect of erosion and this tinting volcanic concretion has been revealed. Geysers of warm air on the flanc of the VolcanoAguas Thermales – 35°CDesert of Dali, the place was named after the Spanish painter who drew few landscapes that look strangely like this one.
by baptiste quételart – architect / architectural reporter
