The San Francisco Pass is one of the most important passes of the Andes mountains which connects Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 and Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

. The highest point of this pass is at 4748 m (15,577.4 ft) AMSL.

Location

The pass is located at 26°52′35"S 68°18′05"W and connects the Argentinian province of Catamarca

Catamarca Province

Catamarca is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. The province has a population of 334,568 as per the , and covers an area of 102,602 km². Its literacy rate is 95.5%. Neighbouring provinces are : Salta, Tucumán, Santiago del Estero, Córdoba, and La Rioja...

 with the Atacama Region

Atacama Region

The Atacama Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. It comprises three provinces, Chañaral, Copiapó and Huasco. It is bordered to the north by Antofagasta, to the south by Coquimbo, to east with Provinces of Catamarca, La Rioja and San Juan of Argentina, and to west with...

 in Chile. In the Argentinian side, route N 60 ascends from Fiambala

Fiambala

Fiambala is a town in the department of Tinogasta, located in the west part of Catamarca province, Argentina. It is located at the beginning of the Altiplano at 1.505 m.a.s.l. and 320 km from the capital of Catamarca, San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca. It is situated along the Abaucan and...

 at 1505 m (4,937.7 ft) AMSL in a deep valley formed by 5000 metres (16,404.2 ft) mountains. In the last sinuous 20 km (12.4 mi), the route climbs from about 4000 m (13,123.4 ft) in Las grutas to more than 4700 m (15,419.9 ft) at the border.

On the Chilean side the route CH-31 connects Copiapo

Copiapó

Copiapó is a city in northern Chile, located about 40 miles east of the coastal town of Caldera. Founded on December 8, 1744, it is the capital of Copiapó Province and Atacama Region....

 with the Chile-Argentinian border. On the way it passes next to Maricunga's salt flat on the Nevado Tres Cruces National Park

Nevado Tres Cruces National Park

Located in the Atacama Region of Chile at 93.2 miles from Copiapó. Nevado Tres Cruces National Park includes Laguna Santa Rosa, Laguna del Negro Francisco, and a part of the Salar de Maricunga. The park is divided into two zones, the northern zone encompasing the southern portion of Salar de...

 and Laguna Verde

Laguna Verde (lake of Chile)

Laguna Verde is a salt lake in the Andes Mountains of Chile. It lies in the Atacama Region , near San Francisco Pass. The volcano Ojos del Salado marks the south border of its basin.High mountains surround the lake...

. The area is surrounded by volcano

Volcano

2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...

es and high peaks as the Cerro Falso Azufre (5906 m or 19,376.6 ft), the volcano San Francisco (6018 m or 19,744.1 ft), the Incahuasi

Incahuasi

Incahuasi or Nevado de Incahuasi is a mountain between the Argentine province of Catamarca, and the Atacama Region of Chile. Located at approximate coordinates , it has a height of 6,621m....

 (6638 m or 21,778.2 ft) and highest volcano in the world, Nevado Ojos del Salado

Ojos del Salado

Nevado Ojos del Salado is a massive stratovolcano in the Andes on the Argentina-Chile border and the highest volcano in the world at . It is also the second highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere and the highest in Chile...

(6879 m or 22,568.9 ft), among others.