Penitential snow is a phenomenon associated with the high mountains of the subtropical and tropical dry zones of the Old and New Worlds. Snow cover that has formed during the wet season is subject to selective melting processes during sunny summer and autumn weather; these are governed by irregularities on the original snow surface and sculpt out closely spaced yet completely isolated firn spikes, which resemble a procession of figures in white penitential robes (penitentes). The photograph was taken at an altitude of 4,900 metres on the Huaitiquina Pass, which leads from Salta (Argentina) to San Pedro de Atacama (Chile). - Book: Picture 8 - Chile - 1975

The Chilean Puna de Atacama, situated between San Pedro de Atacama and the Tatio geysers, is a monotonous high plateau formed from rhyolitic lava. The bitter cold of the night covers the small streams of the Puna with a thin layer of ice, which had not yet melted in the early morning when the photograph was taken. - Book: Picture 160 - Chile - 1976

The Quebrada de Jerez (also known as the Quebrada de Jere), an impressive rocky gorge with a small river running through it, is situated near the oasis village of Toconao in the Chilean Atacama Desert, not far from San Pedro de Atacama. In this arid desert region, the flowing waters of the Rio Toconao create a green valley that allows fruit and other plants to be grown. The deeply incised gorge consists of striking, reddish volcanic and rock formations. – Chile – 1976

As a high-altitude, cold desert, the Puna de Atacama is one of the most inhospitable regions on Earth. Bare rock and sand, lava flows and volcanoes characterise this forbidding yet impressive landscape. - Book: Picture 161 - Chile - 1976

The photograph shows a section of the old, unpaved tracks on the plateau east of Calama, between the famous oasis of San Pedro de Atacama and the historic Atacameño village of San Francisco de Chiu Chiu, which was a strategically important stop on the Inca Trail (Camino del Inca), as the river, with its flowing water, represents one of the few lifelines in the midst of the utterly inhospitable, grey Atacama Desert. – Chile – 1976

To the east of the oasis town of San Pedro de Atacama, the striking Licancabur volcano (5,916 m) rises on the border between Chile and Bolivia in the Atacama Desert. At its summit lies one of the highest crater lakes in the world. Historical ruins also bear witness to the fact that the volcano was a sacred site for the Incas. To the right of Licancabur, the slightly lower Juriques volcano can be seen. – Chile – 1976

Evening atmosphere over the Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon) in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. The valley lies about 13 kilometres west of San Pedro de Atacama and forms part of the Los Flamencos National Reserve. The scene is characterised by sculptural formations of sand and salt rock, shaped by erosion and reminiscent of a lunar landscape. The Licancabur volcano can be seen in the background. – Chile – 1976

The Río San Pedro de Inacaliri (often simply called the Río San Pedro) has carved this canyon into the high plateau of the Chilean Puna. The striking, block-like cliffs consist of thick ignimbrite deposits (volcanic pyroclastic flow sediments). In the background rises the Palpana volcano. It is a massive stratovolcano, approximately 6,040 metres high, in the Chilean Andes near the border with Bolivia. – Chile – 1976

The Valle de Marte (also known as the Valle de la Muerte, or Valley of Death, or Mars Valley) near San Pedro de Atacama in the Chilean Atacama Desert. The valley is characterised by rugged, reddish rock formations of the Cordillera de la Sal, deep gorges, sandy slopes and structures heavily shaped by wind and tectonic activity. In the background lies the barren desert landscape with the striking volcanic cones of the Andes, some of which are snow-capped. On the right is the dominant, almost perfectly conical stratovolcano Licancabur (5,916 metres high). It lies exactly on the geographical border between Chile and Bolivia. Immediately to its right is the slightly lower neighbouring volcano, Juriques (5,704 metres). In the centre are the Cerros de Tocorpuri and, on the far left, the San Pedro volcano. – Chile – 1976

Snuff set - Origin: Quitor - Museum San Pedro de Atacama (province Antofagasta) - Chile - 1976

Tablet male - Origin: Coyo Oriental - Museum San Pedro de Atacama (Province of Antofagasta) - Chile - 1976

Handle of a snuff box from the Atacameños (found at Coyo Oriental), made of carved black wood with shell inlays (width at top: 7 cm). Formally, the depiction is reminiscent of the central figure of the Sun Gate at Tiahuanaco (cf. Figure 124). Museo San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. - Book: Picture 78 - Chile - 1976

Tablet female - Origin: Quitor - Museo San Pedro de Atacama (Provincia Antofagasta) - Chile - 1976

Arrowheads - in natural glass or meteorite showers - Neolithic period - Origin: Sequitor Alambrado, San Pedro de Atacama - Museum San Pedro de Atacama - Chile - 1976

Anthropomorphic jug from the Second Phase of the Atacama culture (height 19 cm) in the characteristic black pottery. Museo San Pedro de Atacama, Chile - Book: Picture 54 - Chile - 1976

Abstract anthropomorphic bottle - Second phase of the Atacameña culture - Height 18,5 cm - Museum San Pedro de Atacama (Antofagasta province) - Chile - 1976

Two anthropomorphic bottles, naturalistic left 19 cm, abstract right 18,5 cm - Second phase of the Atacameña culture - Museum San Pedro de Atacama (Antofagasta province) - Chile - 1976

Vessel Incisa - diameter 18,5 cm - Atacameña culture, last period of the second phase - Museum San Pedro de Atacama (Antofagasta province) - Chile - 1976

Carob wood duck - length 18 cm - Atacameña culture - Origin: Quitor - Museum San Pedro de Atacama (province Antofagasta) - Chile - 1976

Basket with figure with axe and 3 javelins - diameter 35 cm - Atacameña culture second phase - Museum San Pedro de Atacama (Antofagasta province) - Chile - 1976

Detail of a basket with figure with axe and 3 throwing spears - diameter 35 cm - Atacameña culture second phase - Museum San Pedro de Atacama (Antofagasta province) - Chile - 1976

Skull with a headband from an Atacameño grave of the Second Phase at the Quitor 6 site in the Atacama Desert. The grave contained only the skull, without the rest of the skeleton. Such ritual skull burials have not yet been recorded at any other site in South America. Museo San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. - Book: Picture 55 - Chile - 1976

Female skull with hair band - Atacameña culture second phase - Origin: Coyo Oriental - Museum San Pedro de Atacama - Chile - 1976

Skull of a child - Second phase of the Atacameña culture - Origin: Quitor (province of Antofagasta) - Museo San Pedro de Atacama - Chile - 1976

Mummy of a young woman - Second phase of the Atacameña culture - 300 BC - Origin: Solor - Museum San Pedro de Atacama - Chile - 1976

Skull of a man with Bonnet-Turban - with a blanket with geometrical figures - Atacameña culture second phase - Origin: Coyo Oriental - Museum San Pedro de Atacama - Chile - 1976

Mummy of a woman with child - Atacameña culture second phase - blanket with borders - volcanic rock and turquoise necklace - Origin: Sequitor Alambrado - Museum San Pedro de Atacama - Chile - 1976

Typical landscape along the unpaved gravel road linking the oasis town of San Pedro de Atacama with the El Tatio geysers in northern Chile. This route takes you to an extreme altitude of over 4,000 metres. Vegetation is almost entirely non-existent due to the extreme aridity of the Atacama Desert and the cold. In the background, you can see the volcanic Andean Cordillera, which stretches along the Chilean-Bolivian border, including the striking, partly still active Putana volcano (5,890 m), which rises directly behind the El Tatio geyser field. Cerro Tatio (5,208 m) gives the region its name. In the ancient Kunza language, the word means ‘The Weeping Grandfather’. Or the mighty Tocorpuri volcanic complex (5,808 m) right on the border, whose slopes you pass by whilst driving. – Chile – 1976

In the vicinity of the world-famous El Tatio geyser field in the Chilean Andes. The typical mineral crusts and outflows resulting from geothermal activity can be seen, set against the backdrop of the cold, barren Altiplano plateau, which is surrounded by volcanoes and mountains. – Chile – 1976

On the way to the El Tatio geysers, you pass the Vado del Río Putana wetland (Putana River Valley), where the riverbeds are frozen solid in winter. In the background, you can see the Putana volcano. – Chile – 1976

The El Tatio geyser field in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, situated at an altitude of around 4,200 metres. It is one of the highest geyser fields in the world. Activity is at its peak in the early morning (between 6.00 and 8.00 am), as this is when the temperature differences are greatest and the steam from the geysers rises most vigorously. The volcano in the background is the dormant stratovolcano Tatio (5,198 m). It lies directly on the border between Chile and Bolivia and forms part of the larger Tocorpuri volcanic complex. The name Tatio comes from the ancient Kunza language (Tata-iu) and translates as ‘the weeping grandfather’. It refers to the shape of the mountain range, which, from a distance, resembles the profile of an elderly man lying down. – Chile – 1976

The rhyolite lava flows in the Chilean Puna de Atacama are associated with major tectonic fault lines striking in a north-south direction. The Tatio geysers, whose hot water vapour condenses in the cold high-altitude air, provide evidence that magmatic flow is present at shallow depths. It is rainwater that has seeped into the ground, heated up at depth and, due to the resulting pressure, is ejected either continuously or at regular intervals. - Book: Picture 162 - Chile - 1976

An indigenous woman from the region around San Pedro de Atacama in northern Chile. She is wearing the wide-brimmed straw hat (sombrero de paja) typical of the Andean region, which serves as essential protection from the sun in the Atacama Desert – the driest place on earth. Her deep wrinkles and dark complexion reflect the extremely harsh climate, the intense sunlight and the harsh aridity of the Chilean highlands. – Chile – 1976

Cactus spines used as knitting needles. Atacama Desert, Chile. - Book: Picture 138 - Chile - 1976

From the Argentine city of Salta, an old mule track – now a poorly maintained track – leads over the Huaitiquina Pass to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile. In the past, herds of cattle were driven over this pass to supply the Chilean port city of Antofagasta with Argentine beef. When the dreaded Viento Blanco – the ‘white wind’ – blows, the plateau, situated at an altitude of 5,000 metres, is covered within a few hours by a metre-thick blanket of snow, and it was not uncommon for people and animals to perish in such ‘blizzards’. This is evidenced by the sun-bleached cattle skeletons in this desolate wasteland with its salt lakes, dominated by the towering cone of the Lascar volcano. - Book: Picture 157 - Argentina - 1975

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