The most severe deserts: Chile, Atacama

In search of adventure and new impressions, tourists are taken even to the remotest corners of our planet, where the pristine nature and identity of the local population is preserved. One of these places is Chile. The South American Republic is located on a map of a thin strip of land between the majestic Andes and the Pacific Ocean.

Unique and picturesque landscapes attract these places like a magnet. There are all and even deserts here. Chile is famous primarily for Atacama - the driest place on the planet.

Location and climate

The famous South American desert stretches over an area of 105 thousand square meters. Km along the west coast of the mainland. Until 1983, its territory was owned by Bolivia. The aridity of the climate in these places is associated with many features of terrain and location. So, the cold surface Peruvian Pacific current , cooling the lower layers of atmospheric air, creates a temperature inversion, which is an obstacle to precipitation. This desert in Chile - the most arid in the world (a year falls less than 10 mm of precipitation). However, the temperatures in it, in spite of all the ideas about such places, are not too high. So, in January - an average of about 19-20 ° C, and in July - 13-14 ° C. In winter, frequent fogs are observed in some areas.

The most arid desert

Scientists from all over the world come to Chile every year. They compare the desert landscapes with the Martian ones. Atakamu can absolutely objectively provide the epithet "most". An interesting place, in some areas of which precipitation occurs every few years, and some weather stations located in it, and never recorded rain data. According to some data, during the period from 1570 to 1971, there was no significant precipitation in it at all. Atakama is by its own uniqueness ahead of other deserts. Chile also thanks to it receives a steady flow of tourists annually.

In the desert, the lowest humidity is recorded, more precisely, its total absence is 0%. High mountains have absolutely no glaciers, although permafrost is present. According to research by scientists from the UK, the riverbeds of the Atacama River have been completely dry for more than 120,000 years.

Minerals

Almost lifeless desert is rich in minerals, especially copper and a natural source of sodium nitrate (Chilean nitrate). Salt mining was most actively produced until the 40s of the last century and is still a stumbling block between Chile and Bolivia. In addition, there are deposits of iodine, borax and table salt.

Flora of the desert

It's amazing, but the fact is: Chile's largest desert and the driest in the world still has scant vegetation. Vegetation in these places is strictly limited by time and is characterized by instability, the most favorable for plants is the rain period, which, as a rule, coincides with the phenomenon of El Niño - the temperature fluctuation in the surface layer of the Pacific Ocean water in its equatorial part. In Atacama, the climatic spring falls on the calendar autumn (September-November), at that time there are still scant precipitations, and a brief but very rapid and vivid flowering of bulbous plants and herbs begins which can store moisture for a long time. An incredibly beautiful phenomenon has received a poetic name "blooming desert". The flora is represented by more than 200 plant species, many of which are endemic and nowhere else in the world.

The Hand of the Desert

Chile is a very interesting state from a tourist point of view. Going on a trip to this distant country, you can safely count on a lot of pleasant impressions, not only from nature but also from culture. So, in Atacama, just 400 meters from the highway, there is an interesting sculpture made of cement on a steel frame. It represents a human left palm rising three quarters from the surface of the earth. According to the idea of the author Mario Irarárrabála, it serves as an expression of human injustice, loneliness, torment and sorrow. The height of the composition is 11 meters. This is not only a popular place for tourists, but also an object that appeared in many clips and commercials.

Interesting Facts

• Local people have adapted to the harsh desert climate and collect water in these arid regions with special mist eliminators. They are tall cylinders, on the walls of which the moisture condensates, draining into the barrel. In a day, this device can collect up to 18 liters of water.

• In November 2015, the driest desert of Chile and the whole world turned into a magnificent blooming oasis. According to scientists, the phenomenon of this scale occurred for the first time in 50 years. It happened thanks to El Nino, famous for its destructive power, but this time gave such beauty. Chilean authorities note that the flow of tourists in connection with this increased by 40%.

• The deserts of Chile are mysterious and partly mystical places. Proof of this is an amazing find in Atacama. In 2003, in a small abandoned city of La Noria, a human mummy was found. It was called the Atacama Humanoid. The mummy discovered (pictured above) has some features that are the subject of heated debate among scientists and ufologists. It is small (15 cm in length), it has not 12 pairs of ribs (the number is typical for humans), but only 9 and a very elongated skull. About a year the mummy was studied at Stanford University in the USA. According to DNA, the mummy is a rare mutation with skeletal abnormalities. There are several versions of its origin, but all scientists agree on one thing - it's not an alien and not a hoax.