O ARCO, THE ARK

The experience begins well before reaching the Ark, a spectacular natural formation due to erosion. This large oasis, isolated in the desert, contrasts with the vastness surrounding its vegetation cover but also by the breaking of level. This landscape break is explained by an area of collapse that occurred around the bed of Rio Curoca in the Desert plateau. The bottom of the oasis is at a coastline of tens of meters. Habitat has concentrated where the presence of water has made life possible.

If the Ark is the objective of this walk, easy and accessible practically to all, it is interesting to observe the entire oasis fed by the Rio Curoca at intermittent course, whose waters depend on precipitation on the high plateaus upstream, from October to May. Some agriculture is then possible, particularly on the banks of the two near-arid lakes since 2011. The Flemish have left the scene until the next heavy rains. Fish "sleep" according to local belief. One certainty: the inhabitants are becoming more and more difficult to survive because of the lack of water.