Aconcagua and Villendima

     This past week we returned to the Uspallata valley to further study the Aconcagua fold and thrust belt.  The first day of our trip we hiked partway through the small valley leading to the tallest peak in the Americas, Aconcagua, stopping periodically to discuss the geology along the way. 



Hiking up Rio Horcones toward Cerro Aconcagua (6963 meters a.s.l.)



The TIES crew at Cerro Aconcagua

 This is the high spine of the Andes Mountains and the Aconcagua fold and thrust belt is spectacularly exposed.  Afterwards we headed to Cristo Redentor, along the border between Argentina and Chile at 4,000 meters (~13,000 ft) above sea level.  To get to the top of the peak, our trusty bus drivers took us up yet another dirt road with seemingly countless switchbacks.  The road was once the only route to get to across the border to Chile.  On the way up we got a great view of a hanging glacier on a nearby peak.  At the top is a monument of Christ, commemorating the peace between Argentina and Chile.  The plaque at the base of the monument reads, “These mountains will crumble before Argentines and Chileans break the peace sworn at the feet of Christ Redentor.”  Some of us escaped from the cold wind with a mug of artisanal hot chocolate from the small station next to the monument.  Dusk fell as we returned down the road (nerve-wracking to some!), and we caught sight of a couple desert hares and a fox.  





Cristo Redentor (Paso Internacional Los Libertadores), border between Chile and Argentina (4000 meters a.s.l.)

   The second day of our field trip was spent studying the Miocene (9-12 million year old) synorogenic sediments that make up some low ridges between the Cordillera Frontal and the Cordillera Principal of the Andes.  Examination of these sediments allows us to document the uplift and erosion of the Andes Mountains.  We will use the geologic information we gathered on this trip to create our stratigraphic sections of the region, which will be included on a group poster to be presented at the UWEC Student Research Day.  



Examining synorogenic basin deposits that record the uplift of the Andes



     Upon our return to Mendoza, we were able to enjoy Vendimia, the Mendocine wine festival.  It began with a parade on Friday night.  Each of the sixteen districts, or counties, of Mendoza province had a float celebrating particular products from the region.  The elected pageant queen of each district also rode on the floats.  Instead of throwing candy, the people on the floats tossed grapes, apples, melons, and bottles of wine to the onlookers.  Some were more energetically thrown and some of us ended up with slight bruises from the flying fruit.  



Mendozan beauty queens tossing fruit to parade attendees

     Saturday began with another parade, then a visit from Cristina Kirchner, the current president of Argentina.  During her visit there was a very large and energetic protest against the proposal for the construction of the proposed San Jorge open pit copper strip mine in northwest Mendoza province.  The people of Uspallata are very concerned about the environmental ramifications of the proposed mine and they are very eager to discuss it, as we discovered on our visits to Uspallata. 

Protest against the proposed San Jorge mine in northwest Mendoza province

       The main event of Vendimia took place Saturday night at an outdoor amphitheater on the edge of the city.  We were lucky enough to get tickets to the show, which 60,000 people attended.  It was quite spectacular, with musical and dance numbers celebrating the culture and history of Mendoza.  Over 800 people directly participated in its production. Toward the beginning of the show, the whole audience participated in a toast to Vendimia and to Mendoza.  Afterwards, each traditional folk dance was performed, as well as other elaborately choreographed numbers.  Everyone was very affected by the dance representation of the extermination of the native peoples.  The show was heavily influenced by political messages, especially concerning the native population and the working class.  

Vendimia dancers performing

     At the end of the night the Queen of Vendimia was crowned.  It was very interesting to watch as each of the 200 votes was read out loud.  The audience was roughly divided into the different districts and each time a vote was read a part of the crowd would erupt in applause and cheers.  After much anticipation, the Queen of Vendimia 2011 was announced and the show ended with an incredible fireworks display.  As we waited for a bus back to the city, it began to rain heavily.  Finally, a city bus arrived and the driver said he could take a bus load of people back for free.  We still don’t know how we fit so many people onto one bus!  It was completely packed!  About halfway to the city center, someone began singing a traditional Mendocine harvest song and all the Mendocinos on the bus joined in.  It was a great display of cultural unity.  

The Vendimia Queen contestants

Andean Cordillera

After our project developing a geologic cross section of the Andes Mountains, we had a free day to enjoy Mendoza followed by a day of touring the wineries in the region of Maipú in the province of Mendoza.  We visited two wineries, the first being a larger and older winery called Lagarde that was established in 1897.   We examined the process of wine production from picking the grapes to bottling the final product.  After learning about the manufacturing processes we were then taught proper wine tasting techniques and tasted three different wines made at Lagarde.  The second winery we toured was called Palo Alto which is a smaller, newer boutique winery established within the last decade.  We got to see the similarities and differences between the two wineries before tasting the wine produced at Palo Alto.  We tried three different varietals of Malbec, which is Mendoza’s most well known grape.  After an elaborate lunch we had the opportunity of touring an olive oil factory.  After learning the processes involved in producing olive oil, we got to try a variety of oils.



The very popular Malbec grape



The group at the Lagarde winery after our tour and tasting 

 

On February 25 we started our second geology project and headed back into the Andes.  For this project we were examining the Malargüe Fold and Thrust Belt near Las Leñas that developed during the uplift of the modern Andes and the sedimentary basins that formed during this deformation.  The first day we camped along the Rio Atuel and were cooked a traditional Argentinean asado by our comedic bus drivers, Luis and Jorge.

Jorge and Louis preparing for a traditional Asado

Before beginning of our basin research project, we gathered in the Triassic rift basin exposed in Cañon Rio Atuel for a brief biology lesson from Dr. Todd Wellnitz about stream ecology – a taste of the many exciting biology lessons we are looking forward to in the coming weeks.    



Todd Wellnitz explaining stream ecology in Rio Atuel.







Later that morning, we then traveled to Los Lenas in the southern central Andes to examine the record of mountain building.  We split into five groups, each lead by a geology student.  Each group was responsible for a different aspect of the poster we would later create.  We travelled into the mountains to Valle Hermoso which is at about 9,000 ft. elevation.  After a challenging hike we examined the deformed rocks in this area and stopped for a lunch that overlooked the spectacular valley. 





Greg Valitchka overlooking the stunning Valle Hermoso

   



Alex, Greg, and Tom explaining the deformation of the Malargue fold and thrust belt



 The next day, we headed to El Sosneado to measure and describe the sedimentary basin that was initiated by uplift and deformation in the Andes about 9-12 million years ago.  We then travelled back to Mendoza to compile the information we gathered.  The next geology field trip will examine similar processes in a different portion of the Andes, and the two areas will be compared in our geologic poster.



 



Olivia Iverson explaining some of the sedimentary structures during the basin analysis in El Sosneado.

















Geology of the Andes

This past week was our first trip into the Andes Mountains, for examination of a geologic cross-section of the Andean Cordillera. We followed the path of San Martin through the Precordillera, traveling by bus through Villa Vicencio, which offered beautiful scenery as well as excellent geological sites. After a couple hours’ drive alongside steep vertical cliff faces and terrifying precipices, we arrived at the summit of this tiny mountain road, known locally as “the Year Long Road.” It acquired this name because of its 365 hairpin turns that had some of the students wishing for the topography of Eau Claire. Here we caught our first glimpses of the Frontal Cordillera. We were all astounded by its size as it dominated the horizon. We would later find out these were not even the tallest mountains we would see on this trip. The Andes Mountains are actually a series of five mountain ranges, including, from east to west, the Sierra Pampeanas, Precordillera, Frontal Cordillera, Principal Cordillera and Coastal Cordillera, and we examined almost all of these on our trip.

When asked what the highlight of our trip was, we would have to say our stop at Laguna Del Inca was our favorite stop. We had just spent 3 hours stuck at the border of Argentina and Chile and group morale was fading fast. After finally getting free, we decided to make one stop in Chile before heading home. We parked in the lot of a ski lodge and walked around the building. We were struck by the most beautiful view some of us have ever seen. Hidden behind that ski lodge off the freeway was an amazingly blue, glacial-fed, lake. Dr. Mahoney would explain that the peculiar gleam in the water was caused by “glacial flour” (rock ground so fine that it will never settle out). It was hard to get back on the bus after seeing such a place. We would not arrive at our campground in Uspallata until very late that night and after such a long day we all slept like rocks….pun.

Waking up the next day was an unforgettable experience. Surrounded by mountains on all sides, the group was stunned by the tranquility and beauty of the region. Over breakfast we would discuss the day’s events and traveling logistics. One thing we could all agree on was that this was the definition of “hands on learning.” You can read from a textbook the composition of rocks and the altitude of mountain ranges but you don’t really understand the concept until you hold it in your hands or can’t breathe due to the elevation. The classroom has its advantages but being in the Andes lets us experience firsthand what we can only read about in books back home. We would spend a few more days in the Andes honing our geology skills and creating unforgettable memories.

Dan Putman examining to a 250 million year petrified tree in Darwin's Forest

Puente del Inca, by far one of the most spectacular places in the Andes. After a landslide destroyed the hotel, hot springs rich in sulfur bubbled up around the ruins. 

Brennan tutoring Kelsey about the geology of Laguna Del Inca

Brandon and Kris observing folds in a rock face at Baños De Telecosta 

Cerro Tambillo in the Frontal Cordillera

The team hard at work compiling their geological data back at the hostel.

TIES Argentina

Flying over the Andes into Mendoza

Our second day in Mendoza led our group on a scavenger hunt around the city. We were divided into groups to find many things that would become helpful in the next few months.  Some of the challenges of the scavenger hunt included exchanging currencies, finding a map of the city, taking a taxi and bus, and locating familiar landmarks. Something like this sounds fairly simple in principal, but each group also had to negotiate the language barrier. Each group included at least one person that could speak a little Spanish to help us get through our hunt. After our hard work in the scorching heat of the day, we all met together to have the most wonderful dinner ever! If you have never tried Argentine beef then you don’t know what you are missing. It is the most amazing thing ever. Some people in our group were even brave enough to try some of the traditional tripe and blood sausage.

Intercultural Language School

For the next three days we had an intense Spanish immersion course at the Intercultural Institute. We were split into two groups based on Spanish proficiency.  Both groups worked on conversation, vocabulary, and grammar, and also studied aspects of Argentine culture such as safety and geography. We were then treated to a welcome asado or BBQ with all of the traditional elements: wine or Coke to drink, salad with fresh tomatoes, and of course lots of beef and sausage. It was very tasty.  We ended the day with music and mate. Mate is a traditional tea-like drink. It is crushed herbs (yerba) put into a special cup called a mate. Hot water is then added to the yerba. Everyone shares the same cup which, when passed to you, requires you to drink the whole cup through a specially designed straw (bombilla) which sieves out the loose herbs. The mate is passed through the whole group and is a very popular activity to do with friends and family during the afternoons. 

Marcelo teaching us about the original peoples of South America

Amidst the Spanish immersion classes, we took a break to learn about the history and culture of indigenous peoples in South America. As a part of the course we left the city of Mendoza and ventured to the community of La Asunción in the desert province of La Valle. The first day we toured of community, set up our camp site, and had a home-cooked traditional meal with some of the community members. 

Kelsey trying some traditional tea

Dinner with the community members of
La Asuncion

Juaquin serenading us after dinner

Cecil and her apple treat

The following day we hiked 10-13 km through the desert and were privileged to meet a family who lived on a post. The dad was 36 and the mom was 25.  They had 5 children whom we shared apples and Oreos with.  Their curiosity about us really encapsulated what this program is all about: learning, sharing, and simply being a part of the communities we visit.  We learned that their primary livelihood is herding goats. It was a very humbling experience for all of us. Our hike ended in the spectacular Altos Limpios dunes.

Dominga and her 2 month old son

The group seeing Altos Limpios dunes for the first time

 The third day we toured a small museum about the Huarpe culture in Las Lagunas del Rosario. There we also met the community members to discuss problems that they have faced with in recent years. When we returned to our base camp in La Asunción we broke into groups to experience how the artisans who work with wool, leather, and adobe work every day. It was a great way to become closer with the family members on a more personable level. Everyone agreed that it was one of his or her highlights of the trip.

The next day we traveled to the community of San Jose and were able to witness the making of adobe bricks. Some of us even got our hands dirty and jumped right in to help. We were also able to see how the buildings and houses were constructed with the bricks. Overall it was a great experience and, as a result, one of the projects that we will be working on is an informational website describing the history and culture of the Huarpes, complete with pictures. Our hope is that this website will generate interest in the problems faced by the Huarpe people and promote learning tourism, in which groups such as ourselves can experience the Huarpe culture firsthand.

Talking with the community members

Community Skit Night with the Huarpe!