{"id":438,"date":"2026-03-17T23:27:24","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T03:27:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voyagefamille.ca\/?page_id=438"},"modified":"2026-03-21T21:05:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T01:05:12","slug":"salar-de-atacama","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/voyagefamille.ca\/en\/salar-de-atacama\/","title":{"rendered":"Chile - Salar de Atacama"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"845\" src=\"https:\/\/voyagefamille.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/69b63757cd2073.01565331_20240628_115944.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-439\" srcset=\"https:\/\/voyagefamille.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/69b63757cd2073.01565331_20240628_115944.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/voyagefamille.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/69b63757cd2073.01565331_20240628_115944-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/voyagefamille.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/69b63757cd2073.01565331_20240628_115944-1024x577.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/voyagefamille.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/69b63757cd2073.01565331_20240628_115944-768x433.jpg 768w, https:\/\/voyagefamille.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/69b63757cd2073.01565331_20240628_115944-18x10.jpg 18w, https:\/\/voyagefamille.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/69b63757cd2073.01565331_20240628_115944-750x423.jpg 750w, https:\/\/voyagefamille.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/69b63757cd2073.01565331_20240628_115944-480x270.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The&nbsp;<strong>Salar de Atacama<\/strong>&nbsp;is a vast saline desert in the north of France.&nbsp;<strong>Chile<\/strong>, in the heart of&nbsp;<strong>Atacama Desert<\/strong>. It's the country's largest salt pan and one of the world's richest in lithium, a key mineral for batteries and green technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Key facts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Area<\/strong>\u00a0surface area: approximately 3,000 km\u00b2<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Average altitude<\/strong>\u00a0: 2 300 m<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Administrative region<\/strong>\u00a0Antofagasta<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Main resources<\/strong>\u00a0lithium, boron, potassium<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Main neighbouring town<\/strong>\u00a0San Pedro de Atacama<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Formation and geology<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Salar was formed in an endoreic basin, with no outflow to the sea, surrounded by Andean volcanic chains. Extreme evaporation, due to the hyper-arid climate, concentrates salts and minerals dissolved in the groundwater. This age-old process has created a cracked salt crust and intensely coloured lagoons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Ecology and biodiversity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite the extreme conditions, the Salar is home to some remarkable wildlife, including three species of flamingo: Andean, Chilean and James'. Lagoons such as Chaxa and Cejar form oases for migratory birds and attract visitors interested in nature observation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Lithium mining<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The brines in the Salar's subsoil contain an exceptional concentration of lithium. Companies exploit these resources for the global battery industry. This activity has sparked debate about environmental sustainability and water management in a fragile ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Tourism and cultural significance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Salar de Atacama is a major tourist destination in northern Chile. Visitors discover lunar landscapes, snow-capped volcanoes and spectacular sunsets. For the indigenous communities of the Atacama region, the Salar de Atacama also holds ancient spiritual and territorial significance.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Le&nbsp;Salar de Atacama&nbsp;est un vaste d\u00e9sert salin situ\u00e9 dans le nord du&nbsp;Chili, au c\u0153ur du&nbsp;d\u00e9sert d\u2019Atacama. C\u2019est la plus grande cuvette saline du pays et l\u2019une des plus riches du monde en lithium, un min\u00e9ral cl\u00e9 pour les batteries et les technologies vertes. Faits cl\u00e9s Formation et g\u00e9ologie Le Salar s\u2019est form\u00e9 dans un bassin&#8230;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-438","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/voyagefamille.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/voyagefamille.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/voyagefamille.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voyagefamille.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/voyagefamille.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=438"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/voyagefamille.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/438\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/voyagefamille.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}