The Atacama Desert is known for its extremely rare rainfall: in some places it has not rained for several hundred years. The temperature here is quite moderate and there are often fogs, but because of its dryness, the flora and fauna are not rich. However, Chileans have learned to cope with the peculiarities of their desert, to get water and organize exciting tours of the sand mounds.
Main characteristics of the Atacama Desert
Many have heard what the Atacama is famous for, but they do not know in which hemisphere it is located and how it was formed. The driest place on Earth stretches from north to south in western South America and is sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes. This territory with an area of more than 105 thousand square kilometers belongs to Chile and borders Peru, Bolivia and Argentina.
Despite the fact that this is a desert, the climate here can hardly be called sultry. Day and night temperatures are moderate and vary with altitude. Moreover, Atacama can even be called a cold desert: in summer it is no more than 15 degrees Celsius, and in winter the temperature rises to an average of 20 degrees. Due to the low air humidity, glaciers do not form high in the mountains. The temperature difference at different times of the day causes frequent fogs, this phenomenon is more inherent in winter.
The Chilean desert is crossed by only one river Loa, the channel of which runs in the southern part. From the rest of the rivers only traces remained, and then, according to scientists, there has been no water in them for more than a hundred thousand years. Now these areas are islets, oases, where flowering plants are still found.
Reasons for the formation of a desert area
The origin of the Atacama Desert is due to two main reasons related to its location. On the mainland, there is a long strip of the Andes, which prevent water from entering the western part of South America. Most of the sediments that form the Amazon Basin are trapped here. Only a small fraction of them sometimes reach the eastern part of the desert, but this is not enough to enrich the entire territory.
The other side of the arid region is washed by the Pacific Ocean, from where it would seem that moisture should get, but this does not happen because of the cold Peruvian current. In this area, a phenomenon such as temperature inversion operates: the air does not cool with increasing altitude, but becomes warmer. Thus, moisture does not evaporate, therefore, precipitation has nowhere to form, because even the winds are dry here. That is why the driest desert is devoid of water, because it is protected from moisture on both sides.
Flora and fauna in the Atacama
The lack of water makes this area uninhabitable, so there are few animals and relatively poor vegetation. However, cacti of various types are found almost everywhere in arid place. Moreover, scientists count several dozen different species, including endemic species, for example, representatives of the Copiapoa genus.
More diverse vegetation is found in oases: here, along the beds of dried rivers, there are strips of small forests, consisting mainly of shrubs. They are called gallery and they are formed from acacias, cacti and mesquite trees. In the center of the desert, where it is especially dry, even the cacti are small, and you can also see dense lichens and even how the tillandsia bloomed.
Whole colonies of birds are found close to the ocean, which nest on rocks and get food from the sea. Animals can be found here only close to human settlements, in particular, they also breed them. Very popular species in the Atacama Desert are alpacas and llamas, which can tolerate water scarcity.
The development of the desert by man
Chileans are not afraid of the lack of water in Atacama, because more than a million people live on its territory. Of course, most of the population chooses oases as their place of residence, in which small cities are being built, but even arid areas have already learned to cultivate and receive an insignificant harvest from them. In particular, thanks to irrigation systems, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives grow in Atacama.
Over the years of living in the desert, people have learned to provide themselves with water even with minimal humidity. They came up with unique devices where they take water. They were called mist eliminators. The structure consists of a cylinder up to two meters high. The peculiarity lies in the internal structure where the nylon threads are located. During the fog, drops of moisture accumulate on them, which fall into the barrel from below. The devices help to extract up to 18 liters of fresh water per day.
Earlier, until 1883, this area belonged to Bolivia, but due to the country's defeat in the war, the desert was transferred to the possession of the Chilean people. There are still disputes regarding this area due to the presence of rich mineral deposits in it. Today, copper, saltpeter, iodine, borax are mined in Atacama. After the evaporation of water hundreds of thousands of years ago, salt lakes formed on the territory of the Atacama. Now these are the places where the richest deposits of table salt are located.
Interesting facts about the Atacama Desert
The Atacama Desert is very amazing in nature, because due to its peculiarities, it can present unusual surprises. So, due to the lack of moisture, corpses do not decompose here. Dead bodies literally dry up and turn into mummies. In the course of researching this area, scientists often find the burials of Indians, whose bodies shriveled thousands of years ago.
In May 2010, a strange phenomenon happened for these places - the snow was falling with such force that huge snowdrifts appeared in the cities, making it difficult to move on the road. As a result, there were disruptions in the operation of power plants and the observatory. No one has ever seen such a phenomenon here, and it has not been possible to explain its reasons.
We advise you to read about the Namib Desert.
In the center of the Atacama is the driest part of the desert, which is nicknamed the Valley of the Moon. Such a comparison was given to her due to the fact that the dunes resemble a photo of the surface of the Earth's satellite. It is known that the space research center conducted tests of the rover in this area.
Closer to the Andes, the desert turns into a plateau with one of the largest geyser fields in the world. El Tatio appeared due to the volcanic activity of the Andes and became another amazing component of the unique desert.
Chilean desert landmarks
The main attraction of the Atacama Desert is the giant's hand, half protruding from the sand dunes. It is also called the Hand of the Desert. Its creator, Mario Irarrazabal, wanted to show all the helplessness of man in the face of the unshakable sands of the endless desert. The monument is located deep in Atacama, far from settlements. Its height is 11 meters, and it is made of cement on a steel frame. This monument is often found in pictures or videos, as it is popular with Chileans and guests of the country.
In 2003, a strange dry body was found in the city of La Noria, which had long been abandoned by residents. According to its constitution, it could not be attributed to the human species, which is why they called the find the Atacama Humanoid. At the moment, there is still debate as to where this mummy came from in the city and who it really belongs to.
