MSGID: 1:317/3 640235ac   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   March 3, 2023 - Talampaya National Park and Ischigualasto Provincial Park   
      
      National Park   
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      On February 28, 2023, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer   
      (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of   
      a rugged, red-stained region that appeared positively prehistoric.   
      While the image is, in fact, modern and located in the dry mountains   
      region of northwest Argentina, the land was once the home of dinosaurs.   
      Today, two parks in the area—The Talampaya National Park and   
      Ischigualasto Provincial Park—provide the most complete continental   
      fossil record known from the Triassic Period (245-208 million years   
      ago). As a pair, they were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in   
      2000.   
      
      Both parks sit in the lower left quarter of the image. Just south and   
      west of a patch of bright white valley fog, distinct rusty-red soils   
      marks Talampaya National Park. Talampaya is famous for its spectacular   
      600- feet (200 meter) tall red sandstone cliffs and 1,500 year-old   
      petroglyphs. Rock formations tickle the imagination of the modern   
      visitors permitted in the park, particularly a formation that resembles   
      a turtle. Ironically—or appropriately—one of the oldest fossilized   
      turtle remains were found in Talampaya. Named Palaeochersis   
      talampayensis, the turtle measured about 23.6 inches (60 cm) long and   
      has been dated to have lived between 210 and 220 million years ago, in   
      the Late Triassic.   
      
      An especially striking, wide, brick-red area which stretches from the   
      northwest to the southeast marks the southwestern boundary of Talampaya   
      National Park, which butts up against Ischigualasto Provincial Park.   
      From space, Ischigulasto Park appears quite different than Talampaya as   
      a light-colored area surrounded by a pale green wash. From the ground,   
      the landscape is arid, rock-strewn, and otherworldly, earning it the   
      nickname Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon). Petroglyphs, cave   
      shelters, and tool building sites have all been found in this area.   
      Radio-carbon dating suggests that humans likely inhabited this area   
      between 2,590 – 950 years ago.   
      
      Image Facts   
      Satellite:  Terra   
      Date Acquired: 2/28/2023   
      Resolutions:  1km (205 KB),  500m (549.9 KB),  250m (1 MB)   
      Bands Used: 1,4,3   
      Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC   
      
      
      
   https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2023-03-03   
       
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