MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina restricts access to an Andean plain after damage caused by a pickup truck

Authorities in the Argentine province of San Juan will keep access to Pampa del Leoncito restricted until the end of the month, after a vehicle drove across the white clay plain, located at 1,500 meters above sea level at the foot of the Andes, despite a ban on traffic, leaving ruts up to 25 centimeters deep.

The episode took place on Saturday night. According to the authorities' reconstruction, a 46-year-old physician from the neighboring province of Mendoza travelled around a kilometer and a half before the pickup became stuck in the mud. He tried to reverse between 200 and 300 meters, used a ladder in an attempt to free it and, failing to do so, abandoned the vehicle and left on a motorcycle he was carrying in the truck bed, leaving fresh marks on the ground.

Traffic had already been limited before the incident because of rainfall in the area. The surface, made up of silts and clays of saline origin, loses consistency when saturated with water and deforms under the weight of vehicles and people. Once the ground hardens again, the ruts become part of the landscape and cannot be erased with machinery without causing greater damage.

The mayor of Calingasta, Sebastián Carbajal, estimated the deepest marks could take close to a century to disappear, a projection based on earlier damage rather than a technical report on this case. San Juan's director of cultural heritage, Gladys González, called the events “very regrettable” and agreed the deterioration exceeds that caused by previous breaches involving quad bikes.

The driver came forward voluntarily to give his account, provided an address and was released. He said he had not seen the signage in the dark and maintained he was unaware of the restrictions. The justice of the peace handling the case, Andrés Troche, said the man knows the area and crossed it at around 8pm on Saturday. No formal charges have been brought and there has been no conviction. The vehicle remains in place under National Gendarmerie custody, with no attempt to remove it until water levels fall.

Provincial law provides for a fine of up to 1.5 million pesos, around a thousand dollars, an amount Carbajal considers insufficient. The mayor said he would seek to refer the complaint to the criminal courts and to submit a bill to the provincial legislature to strengthen protection of the area. At least three other breaches have been recorded in recent years.

Pampa del Leoncito, also known as Barreal Blanco, is around 12 kilometers long and occupies the bed of a lagoon that dried up some 10,000 years ago. Since 2002 it has formed part of El Leoncito National Park, the first in Argentina whose official mission includes protecting the night sky. Its more than 300 clear nights a year prompted the installation of two internationally significant astronomical observation centers.