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ALMA Memo #408
Geotechnical Study Chajnantor Site, II Region, Chile
Nobeyama Radio Observatory
Luis Rojas (Geo Ambiental Consultores Ltda.)
2000/03
The present Report is written by Geo Ambiental Consultores Ltda. and summarizes the
geotechnical study of the Nobeyama Radio Observatory Authority Chajnantor Site in
the II Region, Chile.
The site is a fairly flat area (pampa) at high altitude (approximately 5,000 m above sea
level), located at the foot of the Chajnantor and Chascón Mountains, not far from The
Jama Pass International Road, about 80 km from the town of San Pedro de Atacama.
The Nobeyama Radio Observatory Authority plans to install an array of large parabolic
antennas at the site. Thus, the foundation engineers require the geotechnical
characteristics of the subsurface for their design work. The NRO representatives
indicated a total of six locations to drill and investigate.
The following Sections summarize the field and laboratory work developed for the project,
give a geological description for the area and indicate the design parameters requiered for
the development of the infrastructure for the antennas at the six locations. Finally, the
Consultant makes recommendations for future developments in the area of the study.
Boring logs and photographs of the rock cores are presented in the Appendix.
View a pdf version of ALMA Memo #408.
Last modified: 2002-01-31
alma-memos@nrao.edu