Salar del Huasco

Salar del Huasco
LocationTarapacá Region, Chile
Coordinates20°18′S 68°51′W / 20.300°S 68.850°W / -20.300; -68.850
Area1,100.49 km2 (424.90 sq mi)
DesignationRamsar Site (1996)
Official nameSalar del Huasco
Designated2 December 1996
Reference no.874

Salar del Huasco is a salt flat dotted with ponds and salt marshes, and seasonally partially covered with water, in northern Chile. It is part of Ramsar Site 874, and was, for several years, a national park. The area has a significant population of flamingos.

The salt flat is probably bordered by a fault on its western side, and a river delta forms much of its northern edge; it is now crisscrossed by stream channels. In the Pleistocene the salt flat was covered by a lake that was identified through its clay and diatomite sediments and which has left well preserved shorelines and terraces.