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El Tatio is a geothermal field with many geysers located in the Andes Mountains of northern Chile at 4,320 metres (14,170 ft) above mean sea level. It is the third-largest geyser field in the world and the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. Various meanings have been proposed for the name "El Tatio", including "oven" or "grandfather". The geothermal field has many geysers, hot springs, and associated sinter deposits. These hot springs eventually form the Rio Salado, a major tributary of the Rio Loa, and are a major source of arsenic pollution in the river. The vents are sites of populations of extremophile microorganisms such as hyperthermophiles, and El Tatio has been studied as an analogue for the early Earth and possible past life on Mars. El Tatio lies at the western foot of a series of stratovolcanoes, which runs along the border between Chile and Bolivia. This series of volcanoes is part of the Central Volcanic Zone, one of several volcanic belts in the Andes, and of the Altiplano–Puna volcanic complex (APVC). This is a system of large calderas and associated ignimbrites, which have been the sources of supereruptions between 10 and 1 million years ago. Some of these calderas may be the source of heat for the El Tatio geothermal system. There are no recorded eruptions of the Tatio volcanoes in the historical period. The field is a major tourism destination in northern Chile. It was prospected over the last century for geothermal power production, but development efforts were discontinued after a major incident in 2009 in which a geothermal well blew out, creating a steam column. The blowout caused a political controversy about geothermal power development in Chile. Name and research history The term "tatio" comes from the Kunza language and means 'to appear', 'oven', but it has also been translated as 'grandfather' or 'burnt'. The geyser field is also known as the Copacoya geysers; Copacoya is the name of a mountain in the area. The earliest mentions of geysers in the region are from the late 19th century, and they were already well known by 1952. The first geothermal prospecting of the field occurred in the 1920s and the field was mentioned in academic literature in 1943. More systematic research took place in 1967–1982; most research on this geothermal field was done in the context of geothermal prospecting. Geography and geomorphology El Tatio lies in the Antofagasta Province of northern Chile close to the border between Chile and Bolivia. The field is located 89–80 kilometres (55–50 mi) north of the town San Pedro de Atacama and 100 kilometres (62 mi) east of the town of Calama; Chile Route B-245 connects El Tatio to San Pedro de Atacama. Towns close to El Tatio are Toconce to the north, Caspana to the west and Machuca to the south. A workers' camp for a sulfur mine at Volcan Tatio was reported to exist in 1959. The old Inca trail from San Pedro de Atacama to Siloli crossed the geyser field; the Inca also operated a mountain sanctuary on Volcan Tatio. There are several unpaved roads and all parts of the field are easily accessible by foot. El Tatio is part of the Central Volcanic Zone, a segment of the Andes between 14° and 28° southern latitude where the Andes are volcanically active. This volcanism manifests itself with about 10 silicic caldera complexes of the Altiplano–Puna volcanic complex and more than 50 recently active volcanoes; Lascar volcano erupted in 1993 and produced a tall eruption column. East of the field, andesitic stratovolcanoes reach elevations of about 5,000 metres (16,000 ft). From north to south, the andesitic stratovolcanoes include the 5,651-metre (18,540 ft) or 5,696-metre (18,688 ft) high Cerro Deslinde which is the highest in the area, the 5,560-metre (18,240 ft) high Cerro El Volcan, the 5,280–5,570-metre (17,320–18,270 ft) high Cordillera del Tatio and the 5,314-metre (17,434 ft) high Volcan Tatio, which collectively form the El Tatio volcanic group. The Sierra de Tucle lies to the southwest of the field. Mountains southwest of El Tatio include the 4,570–4,690-metre (14,990–15,390 ft) high Alto Ojo del Cablor range, while 4,812-metre (15,787 ft) high Cerro Copacoya is situated northwest of the geothermal field. Volcanism with dacitic composition, older than the easterly stratovolcanoes, has occurred west of El Tatio; this volcanism was known as the "liparitic formation" and it covers large areas in the region. Firn and snow fields were reported in the middle 20th century on the El Tatio volcanic group, at elevations of 4,900–5,200 metres (16,100–17,100 ft). The region is too dry to support glaciers today, but in the past higher moisture allowed their formation on mountains of this part of the Andes. Glacially eroded mountains and moraines testify to their existence in the form of large valley glaciers. A large moraine complex, including both terminal structures and well-developed lateral moraines, can be found north of the geyser field and reflects the past existence of a 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) long glacier, the longest valley glacier in the region. Two more moraine systems extend westward both northeast and southeast of El Tatio, and the terrain surrounding the geyser field is covered by sands that are interpreted as glacial outwash sands. Surface exposure dating indicates that some moraines were emplaced at or before the Last Glacial Maximum and others in a time period 35,000 to 40,000 years before present. Smaller moraines at higher altitude may date to the Antarctic Cold Reversal or the Younger Dryas climate periods; moraines related to the Lake Tauca stage are either absent or restricted to high elevation sites. Drainage in the area is generally from east to west down the Occidental Cordillera, often in form of steeply incised valleys. The Rio Salado drains most of the hot spring water and has its headwaters in the field where it is joined by the Rio Tucle and the Vicuna stream. Temperature measurements of the water flowing to the Rio Salado have yielded values of 17–32 °C (63–90 °F), while the discharge of the Rio Salado amounts to 0.25–0.5 m3/s. The Rio Salado eventually joins the Rio Loa, a major source of freshwater for the region; thus, El Tatio plays an important role in the regional water supply. In the early 20th century there were several hydraulic engineering projects at El Tatio, aiming either to use its waters or to mitigate its impact on downstream water quality. Geothermal field El Tatio is well known as a geothermal field in Chile, and is the largest geyser field in the Southern Hemisphere with about 8% of all geysers in the world. Only the fields at Yellowstone in the United States and Dolina Geizerov in Russia are larger. They also have taller geysers than at El Tatio, where geyser fountains are on average only 75 centimetres (30 in) high. Together with Sol de Mañana, which is just east of El Tatio in Bolivia, it is also the highest-altitude geyser field in the world. The geothermal field cov.... Discover the Martin Rouillard popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Martin Rouillard books.