The Atacama Desert

The Atacama Desert is a South American desert plateau that stretches 1,600 kilometres along the Pacific coast, west of the Andes Mountains. The Atacama Desert is the world’s driest nonpolar desert, as well as the world’s only real desert with less precipitation than the polar deserts and the world’s largest fog desert. Both regions have been used as test sites for Mars expedition simulations on Earth. The Atacama Desert covers , or if the Andes’ desolate lower slopes are included. The desert is primarily made up of stony terrain, salt lakes (salares), sand, and felsic lava flowing towards the Andes.

Location:

The Atacama Desert is mostly found in Chile, but due to its vast extent, parts of Bolivia, Argentina, and even Peru are also part of this vast desert.

It covers an area of about . It is almost 1,600 kilometres long and 180 kilometres wide at its widest point. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean, and on the east by the Andean Cordillera.

How the Atacama Desert was formed?

There is evidence, such as oxide mines, suggesting this location was occupied hundreds of years ago. In fact, remains of the progenitors of today’s populations, such as the atacameos, lupacas, cangos, and uros, have been discovered.

This is due to the rain shadow effect, atmospheric phenomena. When moving between very high mountains and mountain ranges, this climatic effect happens. The water-laden clouds dump their precipitation on one side of the mountain as they ascend vertically. The clouds in this scenario discharge water on the Andes’ eastern flank. Once they cross through the Andes, the clouds are devoid of water, and there is no chance of rain on the other side. This full obstruction of precipitation from the east has resulted in the creation of the Atacama Desert over thousands of years.

That is why it is the world’s driest desert, receiving only a few inches of rain every 10 to 20 years.

Climate and Weather:

The average annual rainfall is roughly 15 mm (0.6 in), while certain areas receive only 1 to 3 mm (0.04 to 0.12 in) of rain. Furthermore, several Atacama weather stations have never seen rain.

Because the Atacama is so parched, many mountains higher than 6,000 metres (20,000 feet) lack glaciers. Only the highest summits (such as Ojos del Salado, Monte Pissis, and Llullaillaco) have snow cover year-round.

Although permafrost reaches down to an altitude of 4,400 m (14,400 ft) and is continuous above 5,600 m, the southern half of the desert, between 25 and 27°S, may have been glacier-free during the Quaternary (even during glaciations) (18,400 ft).

The soil in an area around 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of Antofagasta, with an average height of 3,000 metres (10,000 feet), has been compared to that of Mars.

Flora:

Within the desert’s borders, over 500 species have been identified. These animals are known for their amazing capacity to adapt to such harsh conditions. The most prevalent species include herbs and flowers like thyme, llareta, and saltgrass, as well as trees like the chaar, pimiento tree, and leafy algarrobo where humidity is sufficient.

Cacti, succulents, and other plants that flourish in a dry climate can be found in the desert. Cactus species found here include the candelabro and cardon, which can grow up to 7 metres (23 feet) tall and have a diameter of 70 centimetres (28 in).

Fauna:

Outside of these harsh environments, sand-colored grasshoppers blend in with the desert floor’s stones, and beetles and their larvae provide an important food supply in the lomas (hills). During the hot and humid season, especially on the Lomas, desert wasps and butterflies can be found. The desert is also home to red scorpions.

Humboldt penguins nest in desert cliffs overlooking the ocean and dwell along the shore all year. Andean flamingos live on high-altitude salt flats inland, while Chilean flamingos can be spotted along the shore.

Only a few uniquely adapted mammal species, such as Darwin’s leaf-eared mouse, thrive in the Atacama Desert due to its extreme aridity.

Interesting Facts:

1. The Andes Mountains and the Chilean Coastal Range, which encircle the Atacama Desert, restrict rainfall, making it a kind of death zone for plants, depriving the land of water and nutrients.
2. This area has the world’s greatest natural supply of sodium nitrate, which can be used to make fertilisers, explosives, and other products.
3. Because the soil samples from this location are strikingly similar to those from Mars, NASA utilises it to test instruments for trips to the red planet.
4. Temperatures in the desert can reach 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day and 5 degrees Celsius (41 degrees Fahrenheit) at night.

Conclusion:

The Atacama Desert is situated in a region known as the “rain shadow.” This is due to its geographical location, which is sandwiched between the Andes mountain range, which blocks the humid air of the Amazons, and the Coastal mountain range, which sits between the Pacific Ocean’s air currents.

The texture of the desert land, which was formerly part of the seafloor over three million years ago, is surrounded by mountains and volcanoes. The sky’s colours shift throughout the day, creating a spectacle of never-ending views that are ideal for viewing and photographing.