March 3, 2023 - Talampaya National Park and Ischigualasto Provincial Park

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On February 28, 2023, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
(MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of
a rugged, red-stained region that appeared positively prehistoric.
While the image is, in fact, modern and located in the dry mountains
region of northwest Argentina, the land was once the home of dinosaurs.
Today, two parks in the area—The Talampaya National Park and
Ischigualasto Provincial Park—provide the most complete continental
fossil record known from the Triassic Period (245-208 million years
ago). As a pair, they were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in
2000.

Both parks sit in the lower left quarter of the image. Just south and
west of a patch of bright white valley fog, distinct rusty-red soils
marks Talampaya National Park. Talampaya is famous for its spectacular
600- feet (200 meter) tall red sandstone cliffs and 1,500 year-old
petroglyphs. Rock formations tickle the imagination of the modern
visitors permitted in the park, particularly a formation that resembles
a turtle. Ironically—or appropriately—one of the oldest fossilized
turtle remains were found in Talampaya. Named Palaeochersis
talampayensis, the turtle measured about 23.6 inches (60 cm) long and
has been dated to have lived between 210 and 220 million years ago, in
the Late Triassic.

An especially striking, wide, brick-red area which stretches from the
northwest to the southeast marks the southwestern boundary of Talampaya
National Park, which butts up against Ischigualasto Provincial Park.
From space, Ischigulasto Park appears quite different than Talampaya as
a light-colored area surrounded by a pale green wash. From the ground,
the landscape is arid, rock-strewn, and otherworldly, earning it the
nickname Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon). Petroglyphs, cave
shelters, and tool building sites have all been found in this area.
Radio-carbon dating suggests that humans likely inhabited this area
between 2,590 – 950 years ago.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 2/28/2023
Resolutions: 1km (205 KB), 500m (549.9 KB), 250m (1 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2023-03-03

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