The most famous national park in Argentina is named after the Talapmaja River, which has long since dried up, but its bed still fascinates scientists - fossilized remains of dinosaurs, plants and numerous ancestors of mammals have been found in it, revealing the secrets of the evolution of vertebrates. This is why Talampaja National Park is on the UNESCO World Heritage List, just like the nearby Valley of the Moon, a provincial park where even more evidence of the rich flora and fauna of the Triassic period has been found.
Talampaya covers an area slightly larger than 2.100 square kilometers and is one of the most interesting archaeological and paleontological sites in South America. Its red sandstones were shaped by strong erosions that occurred thanks to the arid climate and large temperature fluctuations, and the highest rocks of the Talampaja Gorge reach up to 143 meters in height.
However, dinosaurs are not the only interesting inhabitants of this area in northwestern Argentina. On this soil, archaeologists found the remains of native settlements, the most famous of which is the Puerta del Cañón, and petroglyphs of hunter-gatherer peoples.
Today, a botanical garden has been added to this park, where plants popular among the local population are grown, and animal species that are extremely important to Argentinians - regardless of whether they are endemic species or not - live in it, such as: pumas, Andean condors, rabbits , Patagonian mares, guanaco...
Bonus video:
