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SERRANIAS DEL HORNOCAL (RAINBOW VALLEY) HUMAHUACA - ARGENTINA
| Location: | Geographic coordinates: | Area: | Area - comparative: |
| Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay. | 34 00 S, 64 00 W | total: 2,780,400 sq km | slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US. |
| Population: | Languages: | Capital: | Currency: |
| 44,694,198 (July 2018 est.) | Spanish (official), Italian, English, German, French, indigenous (Mapudungun, Quechua) | Buenos Aires | Argentinian peso (ARS) |
| Types of rocks used on the monument: | Limestone(Sedimentary rock) |
The Serrania del Hornocal is located in the province of Jujuy, Argentina. Different layers of limestone made of different mineral composition creates this rainbow of colors as the layers are bein eroded away. These layers were originally deposited horizontally, most probably in a sea coastal environment, were then folded and compressed by the collision of the Nazca and South American plates. These collision created the Cordillera de los Andes that runs along the western part of South America.
There are about 33 different shades of limestone that range from ocher, green, red, yellow, and even white. This site is located about 25 kilometers along Provincial Route 73 from the city of Humahuaca, Jujuy. The mountains reach an altitude of 4761 meters above sea level.
© Guillermo Rocha, P. G. / Brooklyn College Geology Department