Valle de la Luna (Chile)

{{Short description|Valley in the Atacama desert}}

{{About|the Chilean valley|the Bolivian valley|Valle de la Luna (Bolivia)|the Argentine valley|Ischigualasto Provincial Park|other uses|Valle de la Luna (disambiguation)}}

{{Infobox valley

| name = Valle de la Luna

| other_name =

| photo = Valle della Luna 01.jpg

| photo_size =

| photo_caption = Valle de la Luna

| map = Chile

| map_width =

| map_caption =

| location = San Pedro de Atacama, El Loa, Chile

| water_bodies =

| coordinates = {{Coord|22.9112|S|68.32303|W|dim:1000_region:CL_type:landmark_source:dewiki|display=inline,title}}

| elevation =

| area =

| references =

}}

Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon) is located {{convert|13|km|mi|0}} west of San Pedro de Atacama, in the north of Chile in the Cordillera de la Sal, in the Atacama Desert.

It has various stone and sand formations which have been carved by wind and water. It has an impressive range of color and texture, looking somewhat similar to the surface of the Moon. There are also dry lakes where the composition of salt makes a white covering layer of the area. It presents diverse saline outcrops which appear like man-made sculptures. There are also a great variety of caverns. When the sun sinks it defines the landscape while the wind blows among the rocks and the sky passes from pink color to purple and finally black.

Valle de la Luna is a part of the Reserva Nacional los Flamencos and was declared a Nature Sanctuary in 1982 for its natural environment and strange lunar landscape, from which its name is derived.{{cite web|title=iExplore Chile|publisher=iExplore|url=http://www.iexplore.com/tour/46641|access-date=14 February 2010}} The Atacama desert is also considered one of the driest places on earth, as some areas have not received a single drop of rain in hundreds of years.{{cite web|title=Natural Earth: Chile|publisher=Natural Earth | url = http://www.natural-earth.nl/EN/Pages/Continents/South%20America/Chile/Chile_EN.html|access-date=14 February 2010}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}} A prototype for a Mars rover was tested there by scientists because of the valley's dry and forbidding terrains.{{cite web|title=Chile Tourist Attractions|publisher=Internet Cafe|url=http://www.internet-cafe-guide.com/chile-tourist-attractions.html|access-date=14 February 2010}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}