El Tatio geyser field, Antofagasta Province, Atacama desert Chile

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This is El Tatio geyser field in Antofagasta, Chile. At over 14, 000 ft (4,000 metres) in altitude it's a fairly inhospitable place - especially in winter. Some geological structures found near the boiling hot geysers are attributable to microorganisms that can thrive in such hostile conditions. Similar structures have been detected by the Rover Spirit on the planet Mars leading some scientists to raise the possibility that these too could have been created by living organisms.

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Size: 3744px × 5616px
Location: Antofagasta Province, Atacama desert Chile
Photo credit: © Frank Nowikowski / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: andes, antofagasta, atacama, chile, desert, early, el, feature, field, fog, geological, geyser, geysers, geysir, hot, landsapes, landscape, mist, morning, mountain, mountains, moutain, nisty, province, springs, sun, sunny, tatio