Salar de Pedernales

During the late Pleistocene, the climate was wetter and thus open water covered a much larger area of Salar de Pedernales.

Presently, the main water source of Salar de Pedernales is the Ola river, which enters from the southeast.

Presently, the Ola river is used as a water source for nearby mining operations, and other natural resources of Salar de Pedernales have been prospected.

Salar de Pedernales lies in the Diego Almagro municipality,[1] Chañaral province,[2] Atacama Region of Chile.

[7] Doña Ines mountain lies to its north,[10] Cerro Agua Helada to its east,[11] and Sierra Aragonesa south.

This may have raised water levels in Salar de Pedernales by about 30 m (98 ft); carbonates from a highstand have been dated to about 29,730 ± 1,440 years ago.

[34] This lake may have covered an area of 540 km2 (210 sq mi)[35] and left shorelines along the eastern margin of Salar de Pedernales, while rivers formed deltas on its southern side.

[37] The Leoncito and Juncalito rivers join it (partly underground[38]) from the east,[39] and its flow peaks during July and August.

[14] Water seeps underground[40] and through an artificial discharge dug in the 1930s from the salt flat into the Rio de la Sal.

[48] The local geology is largely hidden below the salt surface and can be discerned mainly through field work and seismic tomography.

[53] It caused the upper parts of the Rio Salado watershed to separate from the river, generating Salar de Pedernales which then filled with evaporites.

[74] The early habitation has been correlated to the Huentelauquén cultural complex from the Pacific coast; it exploited rodents and birds as food sources[75] and constructed numerous animal traps around Salar de Pedernales.

[78] Later still, the Inca extended part of their road system, which passed on the western side of Salar de Pedernales, to the region and built ceremonial platforms.

[81] Beginning in 1927, the Rio Ola was dammed and most of its flow diverted to copper processing plants at Potrerillos and El Salvador.

[83] Oil wells have been dug in the area,[53] and borate, lithium and potassium deposits occur at the margins of Salar de Pedernales;[41] there is one report of asphalt occurrence.

[73] Allegations of damages caused by overexploitation of the salt flat's water resources led to lawsuits against the National Copper Corporation of Chile in the 2020s,[89] which forced the company to develop a wetland management plan for Salar de Pedernales.