Salar de Aguas Calientes IV. 14/08/09; Région de Antogafasta; 15,529 ha; 24°59'S 068017638'W. This High Andean site (3,665m a.s.l.) is located in the deserted area of the Central Dry Puna of northern Chile. The saline lakes (salt pans) and azonal vegetation (meadows and bofedales)  wetlands caused by groundwater upwelling  sustain a rich and abundant wildlife. Similarly to the neighboring Ramsar site Salar de Pujsa, this wetland is an staging area (feeding and roosting) for interhemispheric migratory birds, such as sandpipers (Calidris bairdii, C. melanotos, C. himantopus, Catoptrophorus semipalmatus), yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca, T. flavipes), and Wilson's Phalarope (Steganopus tricolor). Furthermore, the three high Andean flamingo species (Andean, Chilean and James's), Darwin's Rhea (Pterocnemia pennata), Andean Goose (Chloephaga melanoptera), and Puna Tinamou (Tinamotis pentlandii), as well as the mammals short-tailed chinchilla (Chinchilla brevicaudata) and vicuña (Vicugna vicugna), are present in the area. Currently there are mining concessions for salt extraction, which implies a conservation threat, either directly due to salt extraction from the surface or indirectly due to groundwater extraction. Ramsar site no. 1870. Most recent RIS information: 2009.

Antofagasta