On the territory of Chile is the most arid place on our planet, and the more surprising that life is saved there. For four centuries, even a drop of life-giving rain did not fall in this valley, and therefore the humidity of the unique place is zero percent.
A bit of history
Bordering Peru, the driest desert in the world is located in western South America. When the Spaniards took possession of Chilean lands, they hoped to find valuable deposits. However, over a vast territory of one hundred and five thousand square kilometers, no mineral deposits were discovered over three hundred years.
After gaining independence from the Spanish conquerors, Bolivia and Peru began to claim desert lands, and after they discovered a saltpeter deposit in the 19th century, an armed conflict broke out that led to the Second Pacific War.
The winner's laurels went to Chile, and mining settlements in Atacama began to grow in large numbers. Unfortunately, after the appearance of synthetic nitrates, the production of nitrate was reduced to nothing, and today there are more than 150 abandoned towns called “ghosts” by the locals on this territory.
By the way, the driest desert in the world is the only place on the planet where the remains of the mineral are still stored thanks to the unique climate, because everywhere saltpeter immediately dissolves in water.
Desert climate
Many believe that the huge hollow in California, called the Death Valley, is considered the hottest place on the globe, but this is not so. In the National Park of America, prolonged rainfall is frequent, leading to floods and changing terrain. And on the territory of Atakama the riverbeds have been dry for 120 thousand years, and it rains once every several decades. Therefore, all the questions about what is the driest desert in the world, scientists answer unambiguously.
In arid areas there is no typical sweltering heat. The average daily temperature is from zero to 25 degrees. A significant part of the territory is located in the mountains without glaciers, reaching a height of about seven thousand meters.
Flora and fauna
Despite the rather harsh conditions, the poor vegetation of the plain consists of lichens, thorny shrubs and small cacti, which number more than 160 species. In addition, there are several acacia oases.
But the animal kingdom is really scarce: snakes and insects prevail in the area, taking the saving moisture from the mists. The water vapor, during rapid cooling, condenses and feeds small islands of vegetation in the middle of a scorched desert.
And in some areas even scorpions are not found, in hot sands any life is absolutely absent.
Rain Shadow
Scientists have found out why the driest desert on Earth is such. The reason is an unusual phenomenon called the “rain shadow”. The High Andes become a powerful barrier to tropical atmospheric masses that carry rainfall to South America. Thus, blowing local winds do not contain moisture, despite the proximity of the ocean.
Devices for collecting moisture
All the moisture in the desert comes in the form of thick mists, and this is the only thing its inhabitants can count on. Locals adapted to collect water using a cunning fixture as tall as a human.
The unique "mist eliminator" is an invention of a cylindrical shape, the walls of which are made of nylon threads. According to them, moisture suitable for drinking flows down into the tank, which allows thus collecting up to 20 liters of water.
Desert population
It may seem strange, but the driest desert in the world of Atacama has become the home of more than one million people who settled in coastal oasis cities. In the north, farmers grow tomatoes and cucumbers using a drip irrigation system for watering. And in its coastal part there are international bases of astronomers.
The starting point for those wishing to explore the desert is the small city of San Pedro de Atacama, founded during the time of the Spanish conquerors. Located in the heart of the arid territory, a small town with a population of no more than five thousand people is the most famous.
Moon valley
In the east of Atacama is an amazing attraction, which is famous far beyond Chile. Valle de la Luna - an unusual place on the globe, the landscapes of which resemble the moon. A valley with unique formations of sand, salt and stone of bizarre shapes, processed by time and nature, looks fantastic in the dark, when shadows fall on the hills, turning the valley into a mystical place.
Stunning landscapes in which tourists see the strangest images are remembered for a long time. One can argue for a long time about whether the types of stone formations really look like lunar craters. Travelers who have been there are inclined to believe that this is rather a way to attract as many guests as possible, but nevertheless everyone notes a fabulous picture, which has no equal in entertainment.
The Plain Legends
In the darkness, in the moonlight, dark figures, called by the locals the guardians of the plain, are clearly visible. Ancient Native American myths tell of the spirits of shamans who left their bodies and went to the astral plane, and the stone defenders of the Moon Valley served as a guide for them. A lot of science fiction films have been shot here, and the local population is sure that real aliens lived here thousands of years ago.
For more than 10 years, the Moon Valley has been used by NASA as a testing ground for its “rovers”, and astronauts were trained here before landing on the moon.
Sculpture in the sand
The driest desert in the world is known for a frightening and intriguing sculpture in the form of a huge human palm protruding from the sand. The author tried to express human helplessness and vulnerability to the forces of nature.
Inconscious guests put drawings on the palm of their hand, and the art object often needs regular cleaning.
The driest desert in the world has bloomed
One of the most significant phenomena of the desert is its so-called "flowering". This happens in those days when the long-awaited rain spills on dry sand. The thing is that the seeds of numerous plants can be waiting for water for many years, and for life they need about 15 millimeters of moisture per year.
In 2015, the driest desert in the world blossomed with a pink carpet. There has never been rain in the last hundreds of years, and heavy rainfall awakened the mallow, which has blossomed in bright color.
The anomalous phenomenon surprised scientists by the fact that in the entire history of observing Atakama, it has never been covered with stormy vegetation twice a year. This has become a real phenomenon that has attracted thousands of tourists to the region. Local authorities said that the unusual flowering helped significantly replenish the region’s budget.
Interesting Facts
- Atacama is the oldest desert on Earth. Scientists believe that her age exceeds twenty million years.
- The year 2010 is marked by an incredible event in its history. In May, a huge amount of snow fell, and due to high snowdrifts, communications and traffic were disrupted. In addition, it took a long time to restore the electricity supply to cities.
- It is known that arid climate perfectly preserves any organisms. When they die, they do not decompose, but only dry out. Due to this property, archaeological expeditions discovered mummies of Indians in the desert sands, who lived on the territory more than nine millennia ago.
- The driest desert in the world accepts not only travelers, but also extreme sports enthusiasts. Fans of a nascent new style in sports called sandboarding literally occupied the area, rolling down on special boards from sand dunes.
- More recently, copper deposits have been discovered, and in the town of Chuquicamata there are working mines for its extraction.
The driest desert in the world, the photo of which is adorned with travel brochures offering fascinating travel companies in Chile, is a real phenomenon. Dead, at first glance, the territory is fraught with many wonders, proving that even in such an area life triumphs.