Talampaya National Park in Argentina
Today’s Image of the Day from NASA Earth Observatory features the Talampaya National Park in the La Rioja Province of Argentina. The photo was captured by an astronaut onboard the International Space Station (ISS).
“The high deserts of western Argentina lie in the rain shadow of the Andes mountains; which causes rain and snow to fall on the west side of the range and leads to a dry climate on the east side. Shadows cast to the east of the mountain peaks indicate that this photo was taken during the local late afternoon,” says NASA.
“The photo is centered on the red sandstone cliffs of Talampaya National Park, which stand out from the generally muted colors of the landscape.”
The region is predominantly made up of folded sedimentary rock layers that contain many fossils from the Triassic Period, which was approximately 250 to 200 million years ago.
Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory
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By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer
