Ischigualasto Formation

Ischigualasto Provincial Park
Parque Provincial Ischigualasto Valle de la Luna
The Submarine, wind-eroded rock formation
Location in Argentina
Location	San Juan Province, Argentina
Nearest city	San José de Jáchal
Coordinates	30°4′S 68°0′W / 30.067°S 68.000°W / -30.067; -68.000Coordinates: 30°4′S 68°0′W / 30.067°S 68.000°W / -30.067; -68.000
Area	60,370 ha (233.1 sq mi)
Established	November 3, 1971 (1971-11-03)
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Ischigualasto / Talampaya Natural Parks
Type	Natural
Criteria	viii
Designated	2000 (24th session)
Reference no.	966
State Party	Argentina
Region	Latin America and the Caribbean

Ischigualasto Provincial Park (Spanish: Parque Provincial Ischigualasto), also called Valle de la Luna ("Valley of the Moon" or "Moon Valley"), due to its otherworldly appearance, is a provincial protected area in the north-east of San Juan Province, north-western Argentina, limiting to the north with the Talampaya National Park, in La Rioja Province. Both areas belong to the same geological formation, the Ischigualasto Formation (sometimes Ischigualasto-Talampaya Formation) Established on 3 November 1971, the park has an area of 60,370 ha (603.7 km²; 233.1 sq mi)

In 2000 UNESCO included Ischigualasto and Talampaya National Park among its World Heritage Sites.

The most accepted hypothesis gives the name "Ischigualasto" a Quechua origin, meaning "dead land", although some scholars have proposed Diaguita or Huarpe roots.

The first paleontological description of Ischigualasto dates from 1930. In 1941 the area was studied in more detail, which led to the discovery of 70 species of fossil plants. The region received for the first time the name Valle de la Luna in 1943, in a publication edited by the Automobil Club Argentino. That year, Dr. Ángel Cabrera of University of La Plata described the traversodontid Exaeretodon—the first cynodont found in Ischigualasto—after samples sent by a geologist prospecting for coal on behalf of an Argentine mining company.