The Atacama Desert is the driest nonpolar desert in the world , as well as the only true desert to receive less precipitation than the polar deserts and the largest fog desert in the world. Both regions have been used as experimentation sites on Earth for Mars expedition simulations.
Why Atacama is the driest desert in the world?
Why is the Atacama Desert so dry? The Atacama Desert is located in a zone called the “shadow of rain”. ... Basically, there is an absence of rains and high evaporation . These natural, complex, and dynamic factors make the Atacama Desert an incredibly dry place.
What makes the Atacama Desert so incredible?
Cold air can’t hold as much water vapor as warm air so it dries out any water left in the air. This mix of mountains, winds, and ocean currents combines to make the Atacama incredibly dry. The Atacama is also one of the oldest deserts in the world. ... That is much older than other very dry deserts.
Is Atacama a cold or hot desert?
Even though the Atacama is the driest place in the world that does not mean it is the hottest. The Atacama Desert is actually a really cold place with temperatures ranging from 0 to 30 degrees. Three countries fought the War of the Pacific in the 1880s for control of the desert.
How dry is the Atacama Desert?
The Atacama Desert is 50 times drier than Death Valley . As you would expect, very few animals have been able to successfully adapt and inhabit this barren, dry landscape.
Is Atacama Desert worth visiting?
Atacama Desert is definitely worth visiting , considering the fact you can enjoy both stunning landscapes in Valley de la Luna and see rare animal species like vicuñas, and flamingos. Spending one week in San Pedro de Atacama during January is the best plan to visit Atacama Desert.
Which is the coldest desert in the world?
The largest desert on Earth is Antarctica , which covers 14.2 million square kilometers (5.5 million square miles). It is also the coldest desert on Earth, even colder than the planet’s other polar desert, the Arctic. Composed of mostly ice flats, Antarctica has reached temperatures as low as -89°C (-128.2°F).
What’s the hottest desert on Earth?
Death Valley holds the record for the highest air temperature on the planet: On 10 July 1913, temperatures at the aptly named Furnace Creek area in the California desert reached a blistering 56.7°C (134.1°F). Average summer temperatures, meanwhile, often rise above 45°C (113°F).
Which desert is the most toxic desert in the world?
According to scientists the most dangerous place in the world is located inside Africa’s Sahara desert .
Which country has no rain?
World: Longest Recorded Dry Period
The world’s lowest average yearly precipitation in 0.03′′ (0.08 cm) during a 59-year period at Arica Chile . Lane notes that no rainfall has ever been recorded at Calama in the Atacama Desert, Chile.
Is there any life in the Atacama Desert?
The climate of the Atacama Desert limits the number of animals living permanently in this extreme ecosystem. Some parts of the desert are so arid, no plant or animal life can survive . ... Red scorpions also live in the desert.
Do humans live in the Atacama Desert?
Surprisingly, around one million people call the Atacama Desert home. Crowding into coastal fishing villages, mining areas and oasis towns. Inhabitants grow dry-weather produce such as olives, tomatoes and cucumbers, and herd alpacas for a living.
Why does it never rain in Atacama Desert?
The Atacama Desert, the driest and oldest desert on Earth, located in northern Chile, hides a hyper-arid core in which no rain has been recorded during the past 500 years. ... These recent rains are attributed to changing climate over the Pacific Ocean.
What’s the driest desert on Earth?
The Atacama Desert forms part of the arid Pacific fringe of South America. Dry subsidence created by the South Pacific high-pressure cell makes the desert one of the driest regions in the world.
Which place is the driest place on Earth?
The Atacama Desert in Chile , known as the driest place on Earth, is awash with color after a year’s worth of extreme rainfall. In an average year, this desert is a very dry place.
Is there water in the Atacama Desert?
The Atacama Desert is one of the driest places on earth and fresh water , which is critical to the mining process, is a vital resource to be used sparingly.
