It was once believed that Salar de Punta Negra at one time contained a large lake, long, wide and deep at least. Traces of the former lake such as lacustrine sediments, river deltas, shorelines and lacustrine terraces have been found. During the latest Pleistocene-Holocene, the Quebrada de las Zorras conveyed water from the mountains around Llullaillaco to Salar de Punta Negra. The lake eventually overflowed first into the Salar de Imilac farther north and then through the Quebrada de Agua Colorada into the Salar de Atacama; archeological findings have been made in proximity to the overflow pathways.