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Moonlight illuminates the cacti of Isla Incahuasi after summer rains have flooded the Salar de Uyuni to a depth of 15 cm. The island is famous for its forest of "cactus corales temperatura", an endemic specie that favors volcanic soil overlain with fossilized algae. The algae flourished at a time when the Salar de Uyuni was covered in 30-60 m. of water. The cacti grow on average only 1 cm/year, and some are over 12m high. The Salar is the largest salt flat in the world, covering over 10,000sq. km. at an elevation of 3,650m.

Filename
STNMTZ_20080127_16208.tif
Copyright
©2008 George Steinmetz
Image Size
4368x2912 / 36.4MB
Contained in galleries
Altiplano
Moonlight illuminates the cacti of Isla Incahuasi after summer rains have flooded the Salar de Uyuni to a depth of 15 cm. The island is famous for its forest of "cactus corales temperatura", an endemic specie that favors volcanic soil overlain with fossilized algae. The algae flourished at a time when the Salar de Uyuni was covered in 30-60 m. of water. The cacti grow on average only 1 cm/year, and some are over 12m high. The Salar is the largest salt flat in the world, covering over 10,000sq. km. at an elevation of 3,650m.

All images ©George Steinmetz. Please contact us for usage.