Puente del Inca is a natural arch that forms a bridge over the Vacas River, a tributary of the Mendoza River. It is located in Mendoza Province, Argentina, near Las Cuevas.
Puente del Inca is also the name of the nearby hot springs. Scientists speculate that interaction of extreme elements like ice and hot springs was involved in the origin of the formation. They suppose that in ancient times ice covered the river and acted as support for avalanches of snow, dust and rocks. So the dust over the ice over the river would have served as a path for the sulfurous water and petrified the surface, so when the snow melted, the bridge remained by itself.
In March 1835, Charles Darwin visited this natural marvel, and made some drawings of the bridge with great stalactites.
In the early 20th century there was a large thermal resort and spa that used the hot springs to cure certain illnesses (a spa still survives further down the river at Cacheuta). There was a railway station, which is still standing, and tourists arrived by train to the resort. This was one of the last Argentine stations of the Transandine Railway before the train continued into Chile, traveling through a long tunnel under the Andes.
Source:
Pic And Information
Puente del Inca is also the name of the nearby hot springs. Scientists speculate that interaction of extreme elements like ice and hot springs was involved in the origin of the formation. They suppose that in ancient times ice covered the river and acted as support for avalanches of snow, dust and rocks. So the dust over the ice over the river would have served as a path for the sulfurous water and petrified the surface, so when the snow melted, the bridge remained by itself.
In March 1835, Charles Darwin visited this natural marvel, and made some drawings of the bridge with great stalactites.
In the early 20th century there was a large thermal resort and spa that used the hot springs to cure certain illnesses (a spa still survives further down the river at Cacheuta). There was a railway station, which is still standing, and tourists arrived by train to the resort. This was one of the last Argentine stations of the Transandine Railway before the train continued into Chile, traveling through a long tunnel under the Andes.
Source:
Pic And Information
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| Puente del Inca, Mendoza Province, Argentina |