Overview
The Atacama Desert is a plateau in South America covering a 1,600-kilometer strip of land on the Pacific coast, mostly in northern Chile. It is widely regarded as the driest non-polar desert in the world, with some weather stations having never recorded measurable rainfall. The desert covers approximately 105,000 square kilometers.
Geography and Physical Features
The Atacama lies between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes Mountains, and the rain shadow created by both the Andes and the coastal range makes it extraordinarily arid. The cold Humboldt Current offshore further reduces moisture in coastal air. The desert features salt flats, geyser fields, volcanoes, and dramatic rock formations, with elevations rising from sea level to over 6,000 meters at its eastern edge.
Significance
Despite its hyperarid conditions, the Atacama has supported human habitation for thousands of years and contains some of the world's oldest mummies, the Chinchorro mummies, which predate Egyptian mummies by two millennia. The desert is also one of the world's major sources of copper and was historically a source of saltpeter for fertilizers and explosives.
Notable Facts
The Atacama's clear, dry, high-altitude air makes it one of the best places on Earth for astronomical observation, hosting major observatories including ALMA and the Very Large Telescope. NASA uses the desert as a Mars analog environment for testing instruments. The Valle de la Luna, or Moon Valley, features lunar-like landscapes carved by wind and ancient water.