This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, acquired on 25 August 2026, shows an area of the Andean Altiplano in southern Bolivia near the border with Chile.
Zoom in to explore this image at its full 10 m resolution.
The landscape features snow-covered mountains and numerous lakes at an altitude ranging from about 2000 m more than 4000 m above sea level.
It is a false-colour image, using the mission’s near-infrared channel that picks out vegetation in red. Due to the sparsity of this high-altitude region, vegetation is found mainly along lower-altitude river valleys and near urban areas. The satellite image picks out vegetation around the city of Calama, at an elevation of 2260 m, in the region of Antofagasta, northern Chile, on the lower-left side of the image, as well as around the Rio Pata, in Bolivia, on the lower-right side, east of the Quetena volcano.
In between the Quetena volcano and Calama, the Andes mountain range runs parallel to the Bolivia-Chile national border. This area is part of the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve in the Bolivian department of Potosí. Lagoons can be seen dotted across the landscape, providing habitats for protected birdlife including flamingos. The area is also part of the Central Andean dry puna ecoregion, which is characterised by grasslands, colourful lakes, volcanoes and salt flats.
The Laguna Colorada – a shallow, saline lake fed by the Sulor river – is one of the lagoons visible in the lower centre of the image, nestling at an altitude of 4278 m in the Andean Altiplano. With high levels of sodium chloride, sulphates and microorganisms, the lagoon is much saltier than ocean water. Its composition, which varies according to the seasons, causes the water to appear red to the naked eye.
Nonetheless, this image from Sentinel-2 is false-colour, so the Laguna Colorada appears to be a mix of blue and brown, as the near-infrared channels reflect the water and areas of bare soil in and around the body of water. The lake has been designated as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.