Location: center-west of the Salta province, within the San Carlos and Cachi Departments, in the Argentine Northwest.

Surface: it occupies a surface of more than 65.000 hectares / 130,000 acres.

Created: created in 1996.

Plants: The "cardón" or thistle, column-like cactus plant that exists in areas 3400 m (11,152 ft) in altitude, is the symbolic species of this National Park. Another notable type of vegetation among this landscape is the "churqui", member of the leguminous tree family that displays its little forests within this park.

Characteristics: The terrain consists of the typical sierras and dry gorges between 2700 and 5000 m (8856 and 16,400 ft) above sea level, where bushes and "cardones" or thistles (Trichocereus pasacana) make up the abundant vegetation that grows there.

There are three kinds of environment: the sierran, marked by the mountains and isolated hills; the piedmont and lowlands, with slightly inclined surfaces, preserved by the activity from the streams and with surfaces exposed to erosion and contribution from fluvial sediment. And lastly, that of the basin or quarry, which corresponds to the low areas where there is continuous contribution of fine material transported by water.

In PN Los Cardones (Los Cardones National Park) there are prehistoric rests. This fact indicates that extinct animals inhabited the protected area, for example there are dinosaur tracks.