Atacama Desert
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The Atacama Desert ( es, Desierto de Atacama) is a desert
plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...
in
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
covering a 1,600 km (990 mi) strip of land on the
Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...
coast, west of the Andes Mountains. The Atacama Desert is the driest nonpolar desert in the world, and the second driest overall, just behind some very specific spots within the
McMurdo Dry Valleys The McMurdo Dry Valleys are a row of largely snow-free valleys in Antarctica, located within Victoria Land west of McMurdo Sound. The Dry Valleys experience extremely low humidity and surrounding mountains prevent the flow of ice from nearby ...
as well as the only hot true desert to receive less precipitation than the
polar desert Polar deserts are the regions of Earth that fall under an ice cap climate (''EF'' under the Köppen classification). Despite rainfall totals low enough to normally classify as a desert, polar deserts are distinguished from true deserts (' or ' u ...
s, and the largest fog desert in the world. Both regions have been used as experimentation sites on Earth for Mars expedition simulations. The Atacama Desert occupies , or if the barren lower slopes of the Andes are included. Most of the desert is composed of stony terrain, salt lakes (''salares''),
sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class o ...
, and felsic lava that flows towards the Andes. The desert owes its extreme aridity to a constant
temperature inversion In meteorology, an inversion is a deviation from the normal change of an atmospheric property with altitude. It almost always refers to an inversion of the air temperature lapse rate, in which case it is called a temperature inversion. Nor ...
due to the cool north-flowing Humboldt
ocean current An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of sea water generated by a number of forces acting upon the water, including wind, the Coriolis effect, breaking waves, cabbeling, and temperature and salinity differences. Depth contours ...
and to the presence of the strong Pacific anticyclone. The most arid region of the Atacama Desert is situated between two mountain chains (the Andes and the Chilean Coast Range) of sufficient height to prevent moisture advection from either the Pacific or the Atlantic Ocean, a two-sided rain shadow. Despite modern views of the Atacama Desert as fully devoid of vegetation, in pre-Columbian and colonial times a large flatland area there known as Pampa del Tamarugal was a
woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...
, but demand for firewood associated with silver and
saltpeter Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . This alkali metal nitrate Salt (chemistry), salt is also known as Indian saltpetre (large deposits of which were historically mined in India). It is an ionic salt of potassium ...
mining in the 18th and 19th centuries resulted in widespread
deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...
.


Setting

According to the
World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wor ...
, the Atacama Desert
ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...
occupies a continuous strip for nearly 1,600 km (1,000 mi) along the narrow coast of the northern third of
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, from near
Arica Arica ( ; ) is a commune and a port city with a population of 222,619 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica y Parinacota Region. It is Chile's northernmost city, being located only south of the border with Peru. The city is the capita ...
(18°24′S) southward to near La Serena (29°55′S). The
National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, an ...
considers the coastal area of southern
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
to be part of the Atacama Desert and includes the deserts south of the
Ica Region Ica (; qu, Ika) is a department and region of Peru. It borders the Pacific Ocean on the west; the Lima Region on the north; the Huancavelica and Ayacucho regions on the east; and the Arequipa Region on the south. Its capital is the city of Ic ...
in Peru. However, other sources consider that the part of the desert in Peru is a different ecosystem, and should properly be named as Pampas de la Joya desert. Peru borders it on the north and the Chilean Matorral ecoregion borders it on the south. To the east lies the less arid Central Andean dry puna ecoregion. The drier portion of this ecoregion is located south of the
Loa River The Loa River (Spanish: Río Loa) is a U-shaped river in Chile's northern Antofagasta Region. At long, it is the country's longest river and the main watercourse in the Atacama Desert. Course The Loa's sources are located on Andean mountain sl ...
between the parallel Sierra Vicuña Mackenna and Cordillera Domeyko. To the north of the Loa lies the Pampa del Tamarugal. The
Coastal Cliff of northern Chile 250px, View of the arid mountains near Iquique ending abruptly in the Pacific Ocean. The Coastal Cliff of northern Chile ( es, Acantilado Costero) stretches over a length of more than 1000 km along the Atacama Desert. It makes up a large part of ...
west of the Chilean Coast Range is the main topographical feature of the coast. The geomorphology of the Atacama Desert has been characterized as a low-relief bench "similar to a giant uplifted terrace" by Armijo and co-workers. The intermediate depression (or Central Valley) forms a series of
endorheic basin An endorheic basin (; also spelled endoreic basin or endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but drainage converges instead into lakes ...
s in much of the Atacama Desert south of latitude 19°30'S. North of this latitude, the intermediate depression drains into the Pacific Ocean.


Climate

The almost total lack of precipitation is the most prominent characteristic of the Atacama Desert. In 2012, the altiplano winter brought floods to
San Pedro de Atacama San Pedro de Atacama is a Chilean town and commune in El Loa Province, Antofagasta Region. It is located east of Antofagasta, some 106 km (60 mi) southeast of Calama and the Chuquicamata copper mine, overlooking the Licancabur volcano. ...
. On 25 March 2015, heavy rainfall affected the southern part of the Atacama Desert. Resulting floods triggered
mudflow A mudflow or mud flow is a form of mass wasting involving fast-moving flow of debris that has become liquified by the addition of water. Such flows can move at speeds ranging from 3 meters/minute to 5 meters/second. Mudflows contain a significa ...
s that affected the cities of Copiapo, Tierra Amarilla, Chanaral, and
Diego de Almagro Diego de Almagro (; – July 8, 1538), also known as El Adelantado and El Viejo, was a Spanish conquistador known for his exploits in western South America. He participated with Francisco Pizarro in the Spanish conquest of Peru. While subd ...
, causing the deaths of more than 100 people.


Aridity

The Atacama Desert is commonly known as the driest place in the world, especially the surroundings of the abandoned Yungay mining town, where the University of Antofagasta Desert Research Station is located, in
Antofagasta Region The Antofagasta Region ( es, Región de Antofagasta, ) is one of Chile's sixteen first-order administrative divisions. The second-largest region of Chile in area, it comprises three provinces, Antofagasta, El Loa and Tocopilla. It is bordered t ...
, Chile. The average rainfall is about per year, although some locations receive in a year. Moreover, some weather stations in the Atacama have never received rain. Periods up to four years have been registered with no rainfall in the central sector, delimited by the cities of
Antofagasta Antofagasta () is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 402,669. After the Spanish American wars ...
, Calama, and Copiapó, in Chile. (Excerpt) Evidence suggests that the Atacama may not have had any significant rainfall from 1570 to 1971. The Atacama Desert may be the oldest desert on earth, and has experienced hyperaridity since at least the Middle Miocene, though punctuated by intervals of increased humidity, such as between around 10.86 and 6.4 Ma, when the Tiliviche Palaeolake existed before turning into a salar sometime before the Middle Pliocene. The long history of aridity raises the possibility that supergene mineralisation, under the appropriate conditions, can form in arid environments, instead of requiring humid conditions. The presence of
evaporite An evaporite () is a water- soluble sedimentary mineral deposit that results from concentration and crystallization by evaporation from an aqueous solution. There are two types of evaporite deposits: marine, which can also be described as ocean ...
formations suggest that in some sections of the Atacama Desert, arid conditions have persisted for the last 200 million years (since the
Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago (Year#Abbreviations yr and ya, Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 ...
). The Atacama is so arid that many mountains higher than are completely free of
glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...
s. Only the highest peaks (such as
Ojos del Salado Nevado Ojos del Salado is a dormant complex volcano in the Andes on the Argentina–Chile border. It is the highest volcano on Earth and the highest peak in Chile. The upper reaches of Ojos del Salado consist of several overlapping lava domes, ...
,
Monte Pissis Monte Pissis is an extinct volcano on the border of La Rioja and Catamarca provinces, Argentina, from the Chilean border. The mountain is the third-highest in the Western Hemisphere, and is located about north of Aconcagua. Monte Pissis is ...
, and
Llullaillaco Llullaillaco () is a dormant stratovolcano at the border of Argentina (Salta Province) and Chile (Antofagasta Region). It lies in the Puna de Atacama, a region of tall volcanic peaks on a high plateau close to the Atacama Desert, one of the dri ...
) have some permanent snow coverage. The southern part of the desert, between 25° and 27°S, may have been glacier-free throughout the Quaternary (including during glaciations), though permafrost extends down to an altitude of and is continuous above . Studies by a group of British scientists have suggested that some river beds have been dry for 120,000 years. However, some locations in the Atacama receive a marine fog known locally as the ''
camanchaca Camanchacas are marine stratocumulus cloud banks that form on the Chilean coast, by the Earth's driest desert, the Atacama Desert, and move inland. In Peru, a similar fog is called garúa, and in Angola cacimbo. On the side of the mountains where ...
'', providing sufficient moisture for hypolithic algae, lichens, and even some cacti—the genus '' Copiapoa'' is notable among these. Geographically, the aridity of the Atacama is explained by its being situated between two mountain chains (the Andes and the Chilean Coast Range) of sufficient height to prevent moisture advection from either the Pacific or the Atlantic Oceans, a two-sided rain shadow. In June 1991,
Antofagasta Antofagasta () is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 402,669. After the Spanish American wars ...
and
Taltal Taltal is a Chilean commune and city in Antofagasta Province, Antofagasta Region. According to the 2012 census, the commune has a population of 11,132 and has an area of . The commune is home to Paranal Observatory and includes the northern po ...
and inland regions as far as Calama received unusual rainfall leading to formation of a series of mudflows that killed 91 persons.


Comparison to Mars

In a region about south of Antofagasta, which averages in elevation, the soil has been compared to that of
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...
. Owing to its otherworldly appearance, the Atacama has been used as a location for filming Mars scenes, most notably in the television series '' Space Odyssey: Voyage to the Planets''. In 2003, a team of researchers published a report in which they duplicated the tests used by the ''
Viking 1 ''Viking 1'' was the first of two spacecraft, along with '' Viking 2'', each consisting of an orbiter and a lander, sent to Mars as part of NASA's Viking program. The lander touched down on Mars on July 20, 1976, the first successful Mars la ...
''and'' Viking 2'' Mars landers to detect life and were unable to detect any signs in Atacama Desert soil in the region of Yungay. The region may be unique on Earth in this regard and is being used by
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
to test instruments for future Mars missions. The team duplicated the Viking tests in Mars-like Earth environments and found that they missed present signs of life in soil samples from Antarctic dry valleys, the Atacama Desert of Chile and Peru, and other locales. However, in 2014, a new hyperarid site was reported, María Elena South, which was much drier than Yungay and, thus, a better Mars-like environment. In 2008, the ''
Phoenix Mars Lander ''Phoenix'' was an uncrewed space probe that landed on the surface of Mars on May 25, 2008, and operated until November 2, 2008. ''Phoenix'' was operational on Mars for sols ( days). Its instruments were used to assess the local habitabilit ...
'' detected
perchlorate A perchlorate is a chemical compound containing the perchlorate ion, . The majority of perchlorates are commercially produced salts. They are mainly used as oxidizers for pyrotechnic devices and to control static electricity in food packaging. Per ...
s on the surface of Mars at the same site where water was first discovered. Perchlorates are also found in the Atacama and associated nitrate deposits have contained organics, leading to speculation that signs of life on Mars are not incompatible with perchlorates. The Atacama is also a testing site for the NASA-funded Earth–Mars Cave Detection Program.


Flora

In spite of the geographic and climatic conditions of the desert, a rich variety of flora has evolved there. Over 500 species have been gathered within the border of this desert. These species are characterized by their extraordinary ability to adapt to this extreme environment. The most common species are herbs and flowers such as
thyme Thyme () is the herb (dried aerial parts) of some members of the genus '' Thymus'' of aromatic perennial evergreen herbs in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are relatives of the oregano genus ''Origanum'', with both plants being mostly indigen ...
, llareta, and saltgrass (''
Distichlis spicata ''Distichlis spicata'' is a species of grass known by several common names, including seashore saltgrass, inland saltgrass, and desert saltgrass. This grass is native to the Americas, where it is widespread. It can be found on other continents a ...
''), and where humidity is sufficient, trees such as the chañar (''
Geoffroea decorticans ''Geoffroea decorticans'', the chañar, kumbaru, or Chilean palo verde (green wood), is a small deciduous tree, up to 8 meters (25 ft) tall that inhabits most arid forests (montes or espinales) of southern South America. The chañar is cold ...
''), the pimiento tree, and the leafy algarrobo ('' Prosopis chilensis''). The llareta is one of the highest-growing wood species in the world. It is found at altitudes between . Its dense form is similar to a pillow some thick. It concentrates and retains the heat from the day to cope with low evening temperatures. The growth rate of the llareta has been recently estimated at about , making many llaretas over 3,000 years old. It produces a much-prized resin, which the mining industry once harvested indiscriminately as fuel, making this plant endangered. The desert is also home to cacti, succulents, and other plants that thrive in a dry climate. Cactus species here include the candelabro (''
Browningia candelaris ''Browningia candelaris'' is a species of cactus from northern Chile and southern Peru. It has a distinctive growth habit, with a straight spiny trunk topped by more-or-less spineless thinner branches. In some places, the long-term survival of l ...
'') and cardon ('' Echinopsis atacamensis''), which can reach a height of and a diameter of . The Atacama Desert flowering (Spanish: ''desierto florido'') can be seen from September to November in years with sufficient precipitation, as happened in 2015.


Fauna

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. Outside of these extreme areas, sand-colored grasshoppers blend with pebbles on the desert floor, and beetles and their larvae provide a valuable food source in the ''
lomas Lomas (Spanish for "hills"), also called fog oases and mist oases, are areas of fog-watered vegetation in the coastal desert of Peru and northern Chile. About 100 lomas near the Pacific Ocean are identified between 5°S and 30°S latitude, a nort ...
'' (hills). Desert wasps and butterflies can be found during the warm and humid season, especially on the lomas. Red scorpions also live in the desert. A unique environment is provided by some ''lomas'', where the fog from the ocean provides enough moisture for seasonal plants and a few animal species. Surprisingly few reptile species inhabit the desert and even fewer amphibian species. '' Chaunus atacamensis'', the Vallenar toad or Atacama toad, lives on the ''lomas'', where it lays eggs in permanent ponds or streams.
Iguania Iguania is an infraorder of squamate reptiles that includes iguanas, chameleons, agamids, and New World lizards like anoles and phrynosomatids. Using morphological features as a guide to evolutionary relationships, the Iguania are believed ...
ns and lava lizards inhabit parts of the desert, while salt flat lizards, ''
Liolaemus ''Liolaemus'' is a genus of iguanian lizards, containing many species, all of which are endemic to South America. Description Members of the genus ''Liolaemus'' form a dominant part of the lizard fauna of the southern part of the continent of ...
'', live in the dry areas bordering the ocean. One species, '' Liolaemus fabiani'', is endemic to the Salar de Atacama, the Atacama salt flat. Birds are one of the most diverse animal groups in the Atacama.
Humboldt penguin The Humboldt penguin (''Spheniscus humboldti'') is a medium-sized penguin. It resides in South America, its range mainly contains most of coastal Peru. Its nearest relatives are the African penguin, the Magellanic penguin and the Galápagos pen ...
s live year-round along the coast, nesting in desert cliffs overlooking the ocean. Inland, high-altitude salt flats are inhabited by Andean flamingos, while
Chilean flamingo The Chilean flamingo (''Phoenicopterus chilensis'') is a species of large flamingo at closely related to the American flamingo and the greater flamingo, with which it was sometimes considered conspecific. The species is listed as near threatened ...
s can be seen along the coast. Other birds (including species of hummingbirds and rufous-collared sparrow) visit the ''lomas'' seasonally to feed on insects, nectar, seeds, and flowers. The ''lomas'' help sustain several threatened species, such as the endangered Chilean woodstar. Because of the desert's extreme aridity, only a few specially adapted mammal species live in the Atacama, such as Darwin's leaf-eared mouse. The less arid parts of the desert are inhabited by the
South American gray fox The South American gray fox (''Lycalopex griseus''), also known as the Patagonian fox, the chilla or the gray zorro, is a species of ''Lycalopex'', the "false" foxes. It is endemic to the southern part of South America. Description The South A ...
and the
viscacha Viscacha or vizcacha (, ) are rodents of two genera ('' Lagidium'' and ''Lagostomus'') in the family Chinchillidae. They are native to South America and convergently resemble rabbits. The five extant species of viscacha are: *The plains visc ...
(a relative of the
chinchilla Chinchillas are either of two species (''Chinchilla chinchilla'' and ''Chinchilla lanigera'') of crepuscular rodents of the parvorder Caviomorpha. They are slightly larger and more robust than ground squirrels, and are native to the Andes mount ...
). Larger animals, such as
guanaco The guanaco (; ''Lama guanicoe'') is a camelid native to South America, closely related to the llama. Guanacos are one of two wild South American camelids, the other being the vicuña, which lives at higher elevations. Etymology The guanaco g ...
s and
vicuña The vicuña (''Lama vicugna'') or vicuna (both , very rarely spelled ''vicugna'', its former genus name) is one of the two wild South American camelids, which live in the high alpine areas of the Andes, the other being the guanaco, which live ...
s, graze in areas where grass grows, mainly because it is seasonally irrigated by melted snow. Vicuñas need to remain near a steady water supply, while guanacos can roam into more arid areas and survive longer without fresh water.
South American fur seal The South American fur seal (''Arctocephalus australis'') breeds on the coasts of Peru, Chile, the Falkland Islands, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. The total population is around 250,000. However, population counts are sparse and outdated. Altho ...
s and
South American sea lion The South American sea lion (''Otaria flavescens'', formerly ''Otaria byronia''), also called the southern sea lion and the Patagonian sea lion, is a sea lion found on the western and southeastern coasts of South America. It is the only member ...
s often gather along the coast.


Human presence

The Atacama is sparsely populated, with most towns located along the Pacific coast. In interior areas, oases and some valleys have been populated for millennia and were the location of the most advanced pre-Columbian societies found in Chile.


Chinchorro culture

The Chinchorro culture developed in the Atacama Desert area from 7000 BCE to 1500 BCE. These peoples were sedentary fishermen inhabiting mostly coastal areas. Their presence is found from today's towns of
Ilo The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and ol ...
, in southern Peru, to
Antofagasta Antofagasta () is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 402,669. After the Spanish American wars ...
in northern Chile. Presence of fresh water in the arid region on the coast facilitated human settlement in these areas. The Chinchorro were famous for their detailed
mummification A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furth ...
and funerary practices.


Inca and Spanish empires

San Pedro de Atacama San Pedro de Atacama is a Chilean town and commune in El Loa Province, Antofagasta Region. It is located east of Antofagasta, some 106 km (60 mi) southeast of Calama and the Chuquicamata copper mine, overlooking the Licancabur volcano. ...
, at about elevation, is like many of the small towns. Before the
Inca Empire The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts",  "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...
and prior to the arrival of the Spanish, the extremely arid interior was inhabited primarily by the
Atacameño The Atacama people, also called Atacameño, are indigenous people from the Atacama Desert and altiplano region in the north of Chile and Argentina and southern Bolivia, mainly Antofagasta Region. According to the Argentinean Census in 2010, 13,9 ...
tribe. They are noted for building fortified towns called '' pucarás'', one of which is located a few kilometers from San Pedro de Atacama. The town's church was built by the
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
in 1577. The oasis settlement of Pica has Pre-hispanic origins and served as an important stopover for transit between the coast and the
Altiplano The Altiplano (Spanish for "high plain"), Collao (Quechua and Aymara: Qullaw, meaning "place of the Qulla") or Andean Plateau, in west-central South America, is the most extensive high plateau on Earth outside Tibet. The plateau is located at the ...
during the time of the
Inca Empire The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts",  "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...
. The coastal cities originated in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries during the time of the
Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
, when they emerged as shipping ports for
silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
produced in
Potosí Potosí, known as Villa Imperial de Potosí in the colonial period, is the capital city and a municipality of the Department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the highest cities in the world at a nominal . For centuries, it was the location o ...
and other mining centers.


Republican period

During the 19th century, the desert came under control of Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. With the discovery of sodium nitrate deposits and as a result of unclear borders, the area soon became a zone of conflict and resulted in the
War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific ( es, link=no, Guerra del Pacífico), also known as the Saltpeter War ( es, link=no, Guerra del salitre) and by multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought ...
. Chile annexed most of the desert, and cities along the coast developed into international ports, hosting many Chilean workers who migrated there. With the guano and saltpeter booms of the 19th century, the population grew immensely, mostly as a result of immigration from central Chile. In the 20th century, the nitrate industry declined and at the same time, the largely male population of the desert became increasingly problematic for the Chilean state. Miners and mining companies came into conflict, and protests spread throughout the region. Around 1900, there were irrigation system of
puquios Puquios (from Quechua ''pukyu'' meaning source, spring, or water well) are ancient systems of subterranean aqueducts which allow water to be transported over long distances in hot dry climates without loss of much of the water to evapora ...
spread through the oases of Atacama Desert. Puquios are known from the valleys of Azapa and
Sibaya Sibaya is a hamlet in the Altiplano of northern Chile. As of 2017 Sibaya had 46 inhabitants and 123 homes. It has an irrigation system based on underground aqueducts tapping an aquifer. The hamlet was badly hit by the 2005 Tarapacá earthquake ...
and the oases of La Calera, Pica-
Matilla Matilla is a Chilean village and oasis in the interior of Atacama Desert. It lies four kilometers southwest of the oasis town of Pica. As of 2017 Matilla had 380 inhabitants and 217 homes. It host underground aqueducts in various states of decay. ...
and
Puquio de Núñez Puquio de Núñez is a small oasis and orchard in the Atacama Desert The Atacama Desert ( es, Desierto de Atacama) is a desert plateau in South America covering a 1,600 km (990 mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the A ...
. In 1918, geologist
Juan Brüggen Johannes Brüggen Messtorff better known by his hispanized name Juan Brüggen (Lübeck, Germany, April 25, 1887 – March 7, 1953, Santiago de Chile) was a German-Chilean geologist. One of his most famous works is the extensive treaty of ''Fund ...
mentioned the existence of 23 ''socavones'' (shafts) in the Pica oasis, yet these have since been abandoned due to economic and social changes.


Abandoned nitrate mining towns

The desert has rich deposits of
copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
and other
mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. ( ...
s and the world's largest natural supply of sodium nitrate (Chile saltpeter), which was mined on a large scale until the early 1940s. The
Atacama border dispute The Atacama border dispute is a dispute between Chile and Bolivia that stems from the transfer of the Bolivian Coast and the southern tip of Peru to Chile in the 19th century through the Treaty of Ancón with Peru and the Treaty of Peace and ...
over these resources between Chile and Bolivia began in the 19th century and resulted in the
War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific ( es, link=no, Guerra del Pacífico), also known as the Saltpeter War ( es, link=no, Guerra del salitre) and by multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought ...
. The desert is littered with about 170 abandoned nitrate (or "saltpeter") mining towns, almost all of which were shut down decades after the invention of synthetic nitrate in
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
in the first decade of the 20th century (see
Haber process The Haber process, also called the Haber–Bosch process, is an artificial nitrogen fixation process and is the main industrial procedure for the production of ammonia today. It is named after its inventors, the German chemists Fritz Haber and C ...
). The towns include
Chacabuco Chacabuco is one of the many abandoned nitrate or "saltpeter" towns ("oficinas salitreras" in Spanish) in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. Other nitrate towns of the Atacama Desert include Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works. Unlik ...
, Humberstone, Santa Laura, Pedro de Valdivia, Puelma, María Elena, and Oficina Anita. The Atacama Desert is rich in metallic mineral resources such as copper, gold, silver and iron, as well as nonmetallic minerals including important deposits of boron, lithium, sodium nitrate, and potassium salts. The Salar de Atacama is where
bischofite Bischofite is a hydrous magnesium chloride mineral with formula MgCl2·6H2O. It belongs to halides and is a sea salt concentrate. It contains many macro- and micro-elements vital for human health, in much higher concentrations than can be found ...
is extracted. These resources are exploited by various mining companies such as Codelco, Lomas Bayas, Mantos Blancos, and Soquimich.


Astronomical observatories

Because of its high altitude, nearly nonexistent cloud cover, dry air, and freedom from light pollution and radio interference from widely populated cities and towns, this desert is one of the best places in the world to conduct astronomical observations. Hundreds of thousands of stars can be viewed via telescope since the desert experiences more than 200 cloudless nights each year. A number of telescopes have been installed to help
astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...
s from across the globe study the universe. A
radio astronomy Radio astronomy is a subfield of astronomy that studies celestial objects at radio frequencies. The first detection of radio waves from an astronomical object was in 1933, when Karl Jansky at Bell Telephone Laboratories reported radiation comin ...
telescope, called the
Atacama Large Millimeter Array The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is an astronomical interferometer of 66 radio telescopes in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, which observe electromagnetic radiation at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. The a ...
, built by
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an countries,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, and
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
in the
Llano de Chajnantor Observatory Llano de Chajnantor Observatory is the name for a group of astronomical observatories located at an altitude of over 4,800 m (15,700 ft) in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. The site is in the Antofagasta Region approximately 50 ki ...
officially opened on 3 October 2011. A number of radio astronomy projects, such as the CBI, the ASTE and the ACT, among others, have been operating in the Chajnantor area since 1999. On 26 April 2010, the
ESO The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, commonly referred to as the European Southern Observatory (ESO), is an intergovernmental research organisation made up of 16 member states for ground-based ast ...
council decided to build a fourth site,
Cerro Armazones Cerro Armazones is a mountain located in the Sierra Vicuña Mackenna of the Chilean Coast Range, approximately south-east of Antofagasta in the Antofagasta Region, Chile. Before construction started on the European Extremely Large Telescope, th ...
, to be home to the
Extremely Large Telescope The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is an astronomical observatory currently under construction. When completed, it is planned to be the world's largest optical/near-infrared extremely large telescope. Part of the European Southern Observatory ...
. Construction work at the ELT site started in June 2014. The European Southern Observatory operates three major
observatories An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...
in the Atacama and is currently building a fourth: *
La Silla Observatory La Silla Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Chile with three telescopes built and operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). Several other telescopes are located at the site and are partly maintained by ESO. The observatory is ...
*
Paranal Observatory Paranal Observatory is an astronomical observatory operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). It is located in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile on Cerro Paranal at altitude, south of Antofagasta. By total light-collecting area, it ...
, which includes the
Very Large Telescope The Very Large Telescope (VLT) is a telescope facility operated by the European Southern Observatory on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. It consists of four individual telescopes, each with a primary mirror 8.2 m acro ...
(VLT) *
Llano de Chajnantor Observatory Llano de Chajnantor Observatory is the name for a group of astronomical observatories located at an altitude of over 4,800 m (15,700 ft) in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. The site is in the Antofagasta Region approximately 50 ki ...
, which hosts the
ALMA Alma or ALMA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Alma'' (film), a 2009 Spanish short animated film * ''Alma'' (Oswald de Andrade novel), 1922 * ''Alma'' (Le Clézio novel), 2017 * ''Alma'' (play), a 1996 drama by Joshua Sobol about Alma ...
international radio observatory * Cerro Armazones Observatory, site of the future
Extremely Large Telescope The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is an astronomical observatory currently under construction. When completed, it is planned to be the world's largest optical/near-infrared extremely large telescope. Part of the European Southern Observatory ...
(ELT)


Other uses


Sports

The Atacama Desert is popular with all-terrain sports enthusiasts. Various championships have taken place here, including the Lower Atacama Rally, Lower Chile Rally, Patagonia-Atacama Rally, and the latter
Dakar Rally The Dakar Rally (or simply "The Dakar"; formerly known as the "Paris–Dakar Rally") is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation. Most events since the inception in 1978 were staged from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal ...
's editions. The rally was organized by the
Amaury Sport Organisation The Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) is part of the French media group Éditions Philippe Amaury. It organises the Tour de France and other cycling races, as well as golf, running, sailing and off-road motorsport events. The president of ASO is Je ...
and held in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. The dunes of the desert are ideal rally races located in the outskirts of the city of Copiapó. The 2013 Dakar 15-Day Rally started on 5 January in Lima, Peru, through Chile,
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
and back to Chile finishing in Santiago. Visitors also use the Atacama Desert sand dunes for
sandboarding Sandboarding is a boardsport and extreme sport similar to snowboarding that involves riding across or down a sand dune while standing on a board, either with both feet strapped in or while standing loose, without bindings. Sandboarding can als ...
(Spanish: ''duna''). A week-long foot race called the Atacama Crossing has the competitors cross the various landscapes of the Atacama. An event called Volcano Marathon takes place near the
Lascar A lascar was a sailor or militiaman from the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Arab world, British Somaliland, or other land east of the Cape of Good Hope, who was employed on European ships from the 16th century until the middle of the ...
volcano in the Atacama Desert.


Solar car racing

Eighteen solar powered cars were displayed in front of the presidential palace (''La Moneda'') in Santiago in November 2012. The cars were then raced through the desert from 15–19 November 2012.


Tourism

Most people who go to tour the sites in the desert stay in the town of San Pedro de Atacama. The Atacama Desert is in the top three tourist locations in Chile. The specially commissioned ESO hotel is reserved for astronomers and scientists.


El Tatio Geyser

About 80 geysers occur in a valley about 80 km from the town of San Pedro de Atacama. They are closer to the town of Chiu Chiu.


Termas Baños de Puritama

The Baños de Puritama are rock pools which are from the geysers.


Gallery

File:Icy Penitents on Chajnantor.jpg, Icy Penitentes by moonlight File:Catedrales de Tara, Chile, 2016-02-07, DD 62.JPG, Tara Cathedrals (left) and Tara salt flat File:Valle de la luna san pedro chile.jpg, Valle de la Luna, near San Pedro de Atacama File:Laguna Verde - Atacama.jpg, Laguna Verde File:AtacamValley.jpg, Valley in Atacama File:Solar Evaporation Ponds, Atacama Desert.jpg,
Salt evaporation pond A salt evaporation pond is a shallow artificial salt pan designed to extract salts from sea water or other brines. The Salt pans are shallow and large of size because it will be easier for sunlight to travel and reach the sea water. Natural sal ...
s in the Atacama Desert File:Desierto florido 2010.jpg,
Desert bloom A desert bloom is a climatic phenomenon that occurs in various deserts around the world. The phenomenon consists of the blossoming of a wide variety of flowers during early-mid spring in years when rainfall is unusually high. The blossoming occ ...
(''desierto florido'') File:Guanacos-001.jpg,
Llamas The llama (; ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since the Pre-Columbian era. Llamas are social animals and live with others as a herd. Their wool is s ...
File:AtacamaDesertByFrode.jpg, Valley of Death File:Machuca iglesia.jpg, Machuca chapel File:Sailing Atacama Desert.jpg,
Paranal Observatory Paranal Observatory is an astronomical observatory operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). It is located in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile on Cerro Paranal at altitude, south of Antofagasta. By total light-collecting area, it ...
File:On Top of the World (wallpaper).jpg, Chajnantor Plateau in the Chilean Andes, home to the
ESO The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, commonly referred to as the European Southern Observatory (ESO), is an intergovernmental research organisation made up of 16 member states for ground-based ast ...
/NAOJ/NRAO
ALMA Alma or ALMA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Alma'' (film), a 2009 Spanish short animated film * ''Alma'' (Oswald de Andrade novel), 1922 * ''Alma'' (Le Clézio novel), 2017 * ''Alma'' (play), a 1996 drama by Joshua Sobol about Alma ...
File:The Milky Way above the Atacama Desert.jpg, The Milky Way streaking across the skies above the Chilean Atacama Desert


Protected areas

*
Pan de Azúcar National Park Pan de Azúcar National Park is a national park of Chile. The park straddles the border between the Antofagasta Region and the Atacama Region. Its name, ''Parque Nacional Pan de Azúcar'', means "sugar loaf national park". Geography The park ...
*
Pampa del Tamarugal National Reserve Pampa del Tamarugal National Reserve is a nature reserve of northern Chile's Tarapacá Region located in the Pampa del Tamarugal, about east of Iquique. The reserve consists of three separate sectors: Zapiga, Bosque Nativo de La Tirana, and Pint ...
*
La Chimba National Reserve La Chimba National Reserve is a national reserve of Chile.World Database on Protected Areas


Legends

*
Alicanto The Alicanto is a mythological nocturnal bird of the desert of Atacama, pertaining to Chilean mythology. Legend says that the alicanto's wings shine at night with beautiful, metallic colors, and their eyes emit strange lights. The color of the wi ...
*
Atacama Giant The Atacama Giant ( es, Gigante de Atacama) is an anthropomorphic geoglyph on the Cerro Unitas area of the Atacama Desert, Chile. It is the largest prehistoric anthropomorphic. It has been suggested that the petroglyph represents a shaman, spiri ...


See also

* 2010 Copiapó mining accident *
Atacama border dispute The Atacama border dispute is a dispute between Chile and Bolivia that stems from the transfer of the Bolivian Coast and the southern tip of Peru to Chile in the 19th century through the Treaty of Ancón with Peru and the Treaty of Peace and ...
*
Camanchaca Camanchacas are marine stratocumulus cloud banks that form on the Chilean coast, by the Earth's driest desert, the Atacama Desert, and move inland. In Peru, a similar fog is called garúa, and in Angola cacimbo. On the side of the mountains where ...
*
List of deserts by area This is a list of the largest deserts in the world by area. It includes all deserts above . Notes See also * Desert * Desertification * List of deserts by continent * Polar desert * Tundra * United Nations Convention to Combat Deserti ...
*
Lomas Lomas (Spanish for "hills"), also called fog oases and mist oases, are areas of fog-watered vegetation in the coastal desert of Peru and northern Chile. About 100 lomas near the Pacific Ocean are identified between 5°S and 30°S latitude, a nort ...
*
Llano de Chajnantor Observatory Llano de Chajnantor Observatory is the name for a group of astronomical observatories located at an altitude of over 4,800 m (15,700 ft) in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. The site is in the Antofagasta Region approximately 50 ki ...
* Mano del Desierto *
Norte Grande, Chile The Norte Grande (''Big North'', ''Far North'', ''Great North'') is one of the five natural regions into which CORFO divided continental Chile in 1950. It borders Peru to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Altiplano, Bolivia and Ar ...
*
Paposo Paposo or Caleta Paposo is a hamlet in the southern part of Antofagasta Province, Chile. It is located on a narrow coastal plain bordering the Pacific Ocean. The census of 2002 counted 259 inhabitants, who predominantly relied on fishing and minin ...
* Pulpería *
Puna de Atacama The Puna de Atacama or Atacama Plateau''Atacama Plateau''
article at the ''
Salar de Atacama *
Transverse Valleys The Transverse Valleys (Spanish: ''Valles transversales'') are a group of transverse valleys in the semi-arid northern Chile. They run from east to west (traversing Chile), being among the most prominent geographical features in the regions they cr ...
* The asteroid 18725 Atacama has been named after the Atacama Desert.


Notes


References


Bibliography

* *


External links


"Mars-like Soils in the Atacama Desert, Chile, and the Dry Limit of Microbial Life"
NASA press release

article in ''Nature''

from the travel blog ''A Lady in London''
Detailed article
issued by the
Geological Society of America The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. History The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hitchco ...
on the history of aridity of the Atacama Desert
Atacama Desert Photo Gallery
photos of many different landscapes, flora and fauna of the Atacama Desert
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS of the E-ELT (acronym for European Extremely Large Telescope)
{{Authority control Deserts and xeric shrublands Ecoregions of Chile Dunes of South America Ergs Geography of Atacama Region Plateaus of Chile Landforms of Atacama Region Natural regions of South America Regions of Chile Physiographic sections Neotropical ecoregions