Out-of-this-world glimpse into planet’s past
Print Edition
ARGENTINA’S Ischigualasto Provincial Park, known as “Valley of the Moon” in English, is among the South American nation’s nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and the world’s only place where nearly all of the Triassic Period — more than 250 million years ago — is represented.
Walking through Ischigualasto is like taking a step back in time on the same land where dinosaurs walked 180 million years ago.
Located in Argentina’s northwestern San Juan province, the park has extravagant rock formations sculpted by water, wind and the sun over millions of years.
The moon-like forms in Ischigualasto make it look like another planet and the park has an undisturbed sequence of rock deposits that witnessed the era of dinosaurs and giant reptiles.
Covering a protected area of 60,000 hectares, the park has high geological and paleontological value for both sightseeing and scientific studies.
At the park’s entrance, visitors can learn about the protected area to deepen their knowledge of the creatures that once lived in this region, before setting out on their trip.
A new museum built around an excavation area was inaugurated recently in honor of American paleontologist William Sill, who pioneered investigations in Ischigualasto.
In the 1960s, Sill settled in San Juan as he was attracted by Ischigualasto’s abundance of fossils.
During Argentina’s military dictatorship in the 1970s, the paleontologist had to flee after helping a score of his students from the University of San Juan escape.
Sill returned to San Juan in 2000 and, thanks to his management, the Ischigualasto Provincial Park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the same year. Sill moved with his family back to the United States in 2003. He died there five years later and the ashes of Sill’s heart are now held at the park as his dying wish.
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