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.
Why is the Atacama Desert the driest desert on earth?
This is determined by its geographical location: between the Andes mountain range, which blocks the humid air of the Amazons, and the Coastal mountain range, which interjects between the air currents that come from the Pacific Ocean.
Why is Atacama known as the driest place on the earth?
The Atacama is the driest place on earth, other than the poles. It receives less than 1 mm of precipitation each year, and some areas haven’t seen a drop of rain in more than 500 years.
Why does it never rains in the Atacama Desert?
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.
What factors contribute to the dry conditions of the Atacama Desert?
Why is the Atacama so dry? First, this desert is located in the “rain shadow” between two mountain ranges, the Andes and the Chilean Coast Range. Second, winds called the Pacific Anticyclone flow through this area. Those winds blow dry air into the Atacama Desert.
Where is the driest desert in the world?
The Atacama Desert is the driest place in the world. Located in Arica, Chile, its annual rainfall is only 0.03 inches.
What are 3 facts about the Atacama Desert?
5 Facts about the Atacama Desert
- It is the driest desert in the world.
- It’s the best place for stargazing.
- Atacama has the world’s largest supply of sodium nitrate.
- Its soil is very similar to that on Mars.
- The oldest artificially mummified human remains are here.
Why is the Atacama so famous?
The Atacama Desert was at the centre of the world’s attention in 2010. Famous for the ‘Copiapo mining accident’, whereby 33 miners survived a record 69 days buried in a 120-year-old copper-gold mine. Thankfully, all 33 miners were safely rescued on 13th October 2010.
How long did the Atacama Desert go without rain?
Or was it just a freak incident? Arica, Chile’s northernmost city in Atacama, and just 18 km from the border of Peru, is fabled as having the lowest rainfall rate in the world. It has a world record for the longest dry spell — it didn’t rain here for 14-and-a-half years consecutively in the early 20th century.
Which desert has no rain for 10 years?
the Atacama Desert
Lane notes that no rainfall has ever been recorded at Calama in the Atacama Desert, Chile.
Can people survive in the Atacama Desert?
The Atacama Desert in Chile is one of the driest places on Earth. Some plants, animals, and microbes manage to survive there, though. People live and work in the Atacama Desert, too.
Is Atacama a cold or hot desert?
Very hot summer, cold winter and negligible rainfall are some of the climatic features of the Atacama desert. Atacama desert is the hottest desert on Earth.
Why is the Atacama so famous?
The Atacama Desert was at the centre of the world’s attention in 2010. Famous for the ‘Copiapo mining accident’, whereby 33 miners survived a record 69 days buried in a 120-year-old copper-gold mine. Thankfully, all 33 miners were safely rescued on 13th October 2010.
How long did the Atacama Desert go without rain?
Or was it just a freak incident? Arica, Chile’s northernmost city in Atacama, and just 18 km from the border of Peru, is fabled as having the lowest rainfall rate in the world. It has a world record for the longest dry spell — it didn’t rain here for 14-and-a-half years consecutively in the early 20th century.
Why is Atacama A desert is it a tropical desert or temperate desert?
The Northern and central Andes block North East and South East Trade Winds which bring rain from the Atlantic Ocean to the Guiana Highlands and Brazil. Therefore the regions west of the Andes do not receive any rain and are very dry and hot and the Atacama Desert is located here. The Atacama is a tropical desert.
Where is the Atacama Desert and why is it unusual?
Chile’s Atacama Desert, the driest nonpolar desert on Earth, stretches across a roughly 600-mile (1,000 kilometers) tract of land wedged between the coastal Cordillera de la Costa mountain range and the Andes Mountains.