Isla Incahuasi

Isla Incahuasi, Inkawasi[1][2] or Inka Wasi[3] (Quechua Inka Inca, wasi house,[4] "Inca house") is a hilly and rocky outcrop of land and former island in Bolivia situated in the middle of Salar de Uyuni, the world's largest salt flat, at an elevation of 3,656 meters (11,995 feet). It is located in the Potosí Department, Daniel Campos Province, Tahua Municipality, Yonza Canton. Isla Incahuasi is the Spanish name where isla means island, Inca stands for Inca, and huasi is derived from the Quechua word wasi meaning house.[5]

Incahuasi has a total area of 24.62 hectares (61 acres) and hosts gigantic cacti (Trichocereus pasacana) and a tourist center. There are unusual and fragile coral-like structures and deposits that often consist of fossils and algae. The place is the top of the remains of an ancient volcano, which was submerged when the area was part of a giant prehistoric lake, roughly 40,000 years ago.

Incahuasi in the center of the Salar

See also

References
  1. noracismo.gob.bo Archived 2013-08-31 at Archive.today Taki Unquy en el Salar de Uyuni (in Spanish)
  2. muniferrenafe.gob.pe Official website of the Ferreñafe Province, Peru
  3. Diccionario Quechua - Español - Quechua, Academía Mayor de la Lengua Quechua, Gobierno Regional Cusco, Cusco 2005 (Quechua-Spanish dictionary): Inka Wasi
  4. Teofilo Laime Ajacopa, Diccionario Bilingüe Iskay simipi yuyayk'ancha, La Paz, 2007 (Quechua-Spanish dictionary)
  5. Rachel Corr (2010). Ritual and Remembrance in the Ecuadorian Andes. University of Arizona Press. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-8165-2830-1. Retrieved 5 July 2012.

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