Report from southern Argentina.

[Robert]

Trond,

Did you ever encounter any of the South American annual Clarkia species? Maybe they grow somewhere else, like Chile. I admit that I know next to nothing about the flora of South America (anywhere!). The scenes from high altitude (your posted photographs) remind be of the crest of the southern Sierra Nevada, especially near Shepherds Pass, California. When I visited Shepherds Pass, I approached it from the east side, the dry Owens Valley.  The best I can make of your photographs is that you approached the mountains in the same manner (i.e. from the dry side). I wonder if it is different approaching the mountains from the west, from Chile and how this might be similar to California. Lots of questions!

[Hoy]

Yes Robert, we saw at least one species of Clarkia. I didn't photograph it though (or more accurate, I did try but discarded the pictures!). It was tiny and with few flowers.  It also seemed to like steppe conditions.

We were only on the east side of the mountain range and although we were a short trip into Chile we were still on the east side. The transition zone from the mountains to the steppe is narrow, sometimes in just a few miles or shorter. If you travel westwards the steppe changes color from gray-brown-yellow to green and then suddenly trees appear. In the far south the prevailing wind is from west and the precipitation is very low on the east side of the mountains. It is a lot of lakes and rivers but the water is cold and it is little vegetation even close to the shores even only a few miles from the mountains.

Landscape - hope you like mountains!


A glacial lake








Cerro Chaltén - Monte Fitz Roy

[Hoy]

El Chaltén village. Here among the mountains are the valleys covered by Nothofagus forests.


Estancia Stag River. The tree limit is at about 900m.


The sea seen from Puerto Natales, Chile. Forested slopes, we are still at the eastern side of the mountains. The steppe is not far to the east.


Freshwater lake in Chile. The vegetation is similar. Embothrium coccineum with reddish flowers.


Torres del Paine

[Hoy]

Rio Cerrano meandering


Condors - we saw several during our trip.


All wildfires here are started by people.

[Hoy]

Lago Amarga. The color of the lakes depend on the amount of particles in the tributaries which in turn depends on the proximity to a glacier and other lakes along the watercourse.


Back in Argentina. View from Cerro Catedral








Volcano Lanin (3747m)

[Hoy]

Monkey puzzle trees in North Patagonia





Batea Mahuida caldera

[Hoy]

Laguna Blanca


Lago Caviahue (Lago Agrio)


Volcano Copahue with black snow due to ash downfall.

[Hoy]

[Hoy]

Steppe - with huanacos

[Hoy]

A few miles from the mountains and the forest has given way to steppe

[Hoy]

[Maggi Young]

My word - what views!!

[Robert]

Trond,

Spectacular scenery!

Now I can understand why you want to visit this region.

From some of your photographs it appears there is much andesite, and one photograph looked like basalt columns, however there appeared to be other geologic formations. Is this true?

Thank you for sharing the spectacular scenery.

[hamparstum]

Trond & Robert, now you both know why I chose to move southwest being raised in a large city... I'll try to get some pics of my annual native Clarkias flowering just now! If you are interested Robert, I can collect a few seeds of them too. They have taken over the free space between clump forming  Agastache foeniculum plants in my prairie garden.

[Claire Cockcroft]

While Trond may have discarded his pictures of clarkias, I love them and grow quite a few.  Here are two pictures of Clarkia tenella growing north of Bariloche.  It seems to be very variable.  I also saw a red form in Chile and include it here.