It was created in 1991 by national law, with a surface of 150.000 hectares, the park is located in the northwest of the province of San Luis, occupying an ample semi-arid zone, the transition between the mount and the region of Chaco, characterized by a vegetation of scrubs and a dry forest, respectively. Characterized by little precipitations, approximately 300 millimeters annual, that the spring and the summer in torrential form fall during, period where appears most of the water mirrors that are isolated and that depend on the volume of the river Desaguadero, that they conform Complejo Lagunar de Guanacache (the west limit of the park).
These mountain ranges, originated 25 million years ago, the wind and the water were eroded by giving rise to the capricious forms of rocks and the stone walls, besides to leave important paleontological and archaeological findings in the open.

The greater expression of these erosive agents is the Potrero de Aguada (of 4000 hectares): a colossal amphitheatre worked by the centuries, river basin limited by colossal farallones, cliffs, cornices and graderías of reddish tones. From the superior edge of Potrero de la Aguada it is possible to be observed, towards the south, the hill Portillo, with its 1200 meters, it is the heightest of the mountain zone.
The Nacional Park Sierra de las Quijadas keeps fossils from a group of prehistoric reptiles: the pterosaurios or " winged lizards ", that they inhabited the zone in the era Mesozoica. One of them, Pterodaustro guiñazui, presents a peculiar characteristic: its feeding depended on a basket type, where it filtered aquatic microorganisms using flexible teeth and allowing the draining of the water. In addition, of a spread eave of 2.5 meters.

Today the great flying protagonist is the Andean cóndor, that along with the gray fox conquers the glance of all the visitors.

Between the fauna that lives the place we found species in danger of extinction like gato moro, rata vizcacha colorada, picho ciego menor and the slow earth turtles. Also there are animals in critical state of survival, like the cat of pajonal, the wild cat, puma, the colored fox, the guanaco, etc.

The vegetation is little and is represented by jarillas, a great variety of shrubs and white cactus, quebrachos, tars, carob trees and other species. Two species of exclusive plants have been detected: the zampa, small subshrub with inflorescencias violáceas and a variety of rosetilla, with form of circular cushion, color cream. In numerous natural balconies the girl is developed, a hardest wood shrub, without leaves and that are only located in some cuyanas mountain ranges.

Like testimony of an old poblamiento, the area, wells excavated in the Earth, used exist in possibly like furnaces. The investigators not yet have determined to what culture belongs these "small furnaces". However, thanks to that the state and location of the archaeological elements were without alteration, know that this territory was dominion of the Indians Huarpes.