Difference between revisions of "Atacama Desert" - New World Encyclopedia

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[[Image:Atacama1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Atacama Desert]]
 
[[Image:Atacama1.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Atacama Desert]]
  
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The '''Atacama''' [[desert]] of [[Chile]] and [[Peru]] is a virtually rainless plateau made up of salt basins (''salares''), sand, and lava flows, extending from the [[Andes]] mountains to the [[Pacific Ocean]].  
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The '''Atacama Desert''' of [[Chile]] is a virtually rainless [[plateau]] made up of [[salt]] basins (''salares''), sand, and [[lava]] flows, extending from the [[Andes]] mountains to the [[Pacific Ocean]]. It is 15 million years old and 100 times more arid than California's [[Death Valley]].
  
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The average width (east-and-west) is less than 160 kilometers (100 miles) but it extends from the Peruvian border 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) south to the [[Bolivia]]n [[Altiplano]]. The mountains nearest to the ocean are the Pacific coastal range, with an average elevation of 800 meters (2500 feet). The [[Cordillera Domeyko]], a range of foothills of the [[Andes]] Mountains, lies east.
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The total area of Atacama is 181,300 square kilometers (70,000&nbsp;mi²).<ref name=nyt>{{cite book | first=John W. (ed.) | last=Wright | coauthors=Editors and reporters of ''The New York Times'' | year=2006 | title=The New York Times Almanac | edition=2007 | publisher=Penguin Books | location=New York, New York | id=ISBN 0-14-303820-6 | pages=456}}</ref>  The desert is created from the rain shadow produced by the Andes Mountains to the east of the desert.
  
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The Atacama Desert is the driest desert on [[Earth]] (except perhaps for the [[McMurdo Dry Valleys]] in [[Antarctica]]) and is virtually sterile because it is blocked from moisture on both sides by the Andes mountains and by coastal mountains. The average rainfall in [[Antofagasta (region)|Antofagasta]] &mdash; a region in Chile which is part of the Atacama &mdash; is just 3mm per year, and there was a period of time when no rain fell there for 40 years. The Atacama is 15 million years old and 50 times more arid than California's [[Death Valley]]. It is so arid, in fact, that mountains that reach as high as 6,885 m (22,590 feet) are completely free of glaciers and in the southern part from 25&deg;S to 27&deg;S have possibly been throughout the Quaternary, though [[permafrost]] extends down to 4,400 m and is continuous above 5,600 m. The Atacama north of 25&deg;S is arid and receives very little rain. However, many locations in the desert receive marine fog providing sufficient moisture for hypolithic algae, lichens and even cacti. In the region south of Antofagasta, though, the coastal range blocks the marine fog. The crest-line of the coastal range averages 3,000 m for about 100 km south of Antofagasta. The driest part of the Atacama is between the coastal mountains and the [[Cordillera Domeyko]], an area called the 'double [[rain shadow]].' In this region the Andes block moisture from the east, the [[Cordillera Domeyko]] block runoff from the Andes and the Coastal mountains block marine fog from the ocean. The region that is in the "fog shadow" of this high coastal crest-line is the region that contains the driest soils — the soils that have been compared to Mars.
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==Driest desert==
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The Atacama Desert is the driest place on [[Earth]], and is virtually sterile because it is blocked from moisture on both sides by the Andes mountains and by coastal mountains. The average rainfall in [[Antofagasta (region)|Antofagasta]] &mdash; a region in Jesus land which is part of the Atacama &mdash; is just 1 mm per year, and there was a period of time where no rain fell there for 400 years. It is so arid, in fact, that mountains that reach as high as 6,885 metres (22,590 feet) are completely free of [[glacier]]s and, in the southern part from 25°S to 27°S, have possibly been glacier-free throughout the [[Quaternary]] - though [[permafrost]] extends down to an altitude of 4,400 metres and is continuous above 5,600 metres. Some weather stations in the Atacama have never received rain. Evidence suggests that the Atacama may not have had any significant rainfall from 1570 to 1971.<ref name=nyt/>
  
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In 2003 a team of researchers published a report in ''Science'' magazine titled "Mars-like Soils in the Atacama Desert, Chile, and the Dry Limit of Microbial Life" in which they duplicated the tests used by the [[Viking 1]] and [[Viking 2]] [[Mars (planet)|Mars]] landers to detect life, and were unable to detect any signs in Atacama Desert soil. The region may be unique on Earth in this regard and is being used by NASA to test instruments for future Mars missions.  Alonso de Ercilla characterized it in ''La Araucana'', published in 1569: "Towards Atacama, near the deserted coast, you see a land without men, where there is not a bird, not a beast, nor a tree, nor any vegetation" (quoted Braudel 1984 p 388).
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Some locations in the Atacama do receive marine fog, providing sufficient moisture for hypolithic algae, lichens and even some cacti. But in the region that is in the "[[rain shadow|fog shadow]]" of the high coastal crest-line - the crest-line of the coastal range averages 3,000 m for about 100 km south of Antofagasta - the soil has been compared to that of Mars.
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[[Image:Chile-Atacama.jpg|thumb|left|Atacama road.|220px]]
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In 2003, a team of researchers published a report in ''[[Science magazine|Science]]'' magazine titled "Mars-like Soils in the Atacama Desert, Chile, and the Dry Limit of Microbial Life" in which they duplicated the tests used by the [[Viking 1]] and [[Viking 2]] [[Mars (planet)|Mars]] landers to detect life, and were unable to detect any signs in Atacama Desert soil. The region may be unique on Earth in this regard and is being used by NASA to test instruments for future Mars missions.  Alonso de Ercilla characterized it in ''La Araucana'', published in 1569: "Towards Atacama, near the deserted coast, you see a land without men, where there is not a bird, not a beast, nor a tree, nor any vegetation" (quoted Braudel 1984 p 388).
  
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The Atacama has rich deposits of copper and other minerals, and the world's largest natural supply of sodium nitrate, which was mined on a large scale until the early 1940s. The [[Atacama border dispute]] between Chile and Bolivia began in the 1800s over these resources.
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==Human occupation==
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The Atacama is inhabited, though sparsely populated.  In an [[oasis]], in the middle of the desert, at an elevation of some 2000 meters, is the village of [[San Pedro de Atacama]]. Its church was built by the [[Spain|Spanish]] in 1577, but archeological evidence indicates that the San Pedro area was the center of a [[Paleolithic]] civilization that built rock fortresses on the steep mountains encircling the valley. The [[Escondida Mine]] and [[Chuquicamata]] are also located within the Atacama.
  
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The Atacama is inhabited, though sparsely populated. The [[Pan-American Highway]] runs through the Atacama. In an oasis, in the middle of the desert, at an altitude of some 2000 meters, is the village of [[San Pedro de Atacama]]. Its [[church]] was built by the [[Spain|Spanish]] in 1577, but archeological evidence indicates that the San Pedro area was the center of a [[Paleolithic]] civilization that built rock fortresses on the steep mountains encircling the valley. The [[Escondida Mine]] and [[Chuquicamata]] are also located within the Atacama.
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The [[Pan-American Highway]] runs through the Atacama in a north-south trajectory.
  
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The [[European Southern Observatory]] operates two major [[observatory|observatories]] in the Atacama desert:
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The [[European Southern Observatory]] operates two major [[observatory|observatories]] in the Atacama Desert:
  
 
* The [[La Silla Observatory]]
 
* The [[La Silla Observatory]]
 
* The [[Paranal Observatory]], which includes the [[Very Large Telescope]].
 
* The [[Paranal Observatory]], which includes the [[Very Large Telescope]].
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A new [[radio astronomy]] observatory, called [[ALMA]], is being built in the Atacama Desert by astronomers from Europe, Japan, and North America.
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Another radio astronomy observatory, [[Atacama Cosmology Telescope|ACT]], is being built on Cerro Toco in the Atacama Desert.
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== Abandoned nitrate mining towns ==
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The Atacama has rich deposits of [[copper]] and other [[mineral]]s, and the world's largest natural supply of [[sodium nitrate]], which was mined on a large scale until the early 1940s.  The [[Atacama border dispute]] between Chile and Bolivia began in the 1800s over these resources.
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Currently, the Atacama Desert is littered with approximately 170 abandoned nitrate (or "saltpeter") mining towns, almost all of which were shut down decades after the invention of synthetic nitrate in Germany at the turn of the 20th century.  Some of these abandoned towns include [[Chacabuco]], Humberstone, Santa Laura, Pedro de Valdivia, Puelma, Maria Elena and Oficina Anita. Chacabuco is a special case since it was later converted into a concentration camp during [[Pinochet]]'s regime. To this day it is surrounded by 98 lost landmines and is guarded by one man who lives there alone.
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==Notes ==
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{{reflist}}
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==References==
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*[[Fernand Braudel|Braudel, Fernand]], ''The Perspective of the World,'' vol. III of ''Civilization and Capitalism'' 1984 (in French 1979).
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==See also==
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*[[Atacama Crossing]]
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*[[Atacama border dispute]]
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*[[List of deserts by area]]
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
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* [http://amesnews.arc.nasa.gov/releases/2003/03_87AR.html news article on "Mars-like Soils in the Atacama Desert, Chile, and the Dry Limit of Microbial Life"]
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* [http://www.redatacama.com/english Atacama Region Web Site]
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* [http://amesnews.arc.nasa.gov/releases/2003/03_87AR.html News article on "Mars-like Soils in the Atacama Desert, Chile, and the Dry Limit of Microbial Life"]
 
* [http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0308/feature3/ National Geographic feature about Atacama]
 
* [http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0308/feature3/ National Geographic feature about Atacama]
 
* [http://science.slashdot.org/science/05/03/19/1943236.shtml?tid=216&tid=191&tid=14 Autonomous Robot Finds Life in Atacama Desert]
 
* [http://science.slashdot.org/science/05/03/19/1943236.shtml?tid=216&tid=191&tid=14 Autonomous Robot Finds Life in Atacama Desert]
 
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4437153.stm Atacama's Super-Dry History]
 
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4437153.stm Atacama's Super-Dry History]
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* [http://www.sanpedrochile.com/ Web Site of the San Pedro de Atacama]
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* [http://www.atacamaphoto.com/atacama/atacama-3.htm Atacama Photo Gallery] - incredible images of Atacama landscapes, flora and fauna
  
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[[Category:Nations and places]]
 
[[Category:Deserts]]
 
[[Category:Deserts]]
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[[Category:Nations and places]]
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[[Category:South America]]
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Revision as of 21:52, 16 March 2007


Atacama Desert

The Atacama Desert of Chile is a virtually rainless plateau made up of salt basins (salares), sand, and lava flows, extending from the Andes mountains to the Pacific Ocean. It is 15 million years old and 100 times more arid than California's Death Valley.

The total area of Atacama is 181,300 square kilometers (70,000 mi²).[1] The desert is created from the rain shadow produced by the Andes Mountains to the east of the desert.

Driest desert

The Atacama Desert is the driest place on Earth, and is virtually sterile because it is blocked from moisture on both sides by the Andes mountains and by coastal mountains. The average rainfall in Antofagasta — a region in Jesus land which is part of the Atacama — is just 1 mm per year, and there was a period of time where no rain fell there for 400 years. It is so arid, in fact, that mountains that reach as high as 6,885 metres (22,590 feet) are completely free of glaciers and, in the southern part from 25°S to 27°S, have possibly been glacier-free throughout the Quaternary - though permafrost extends down to an altitude of 4,400 metres and is continuous above 5,600 metres. Some weather stations in the Atacama have never received rain. Evidence suggests that the Atacama may not have had any significant rainfall from 1570 to 1971.[1]

Some locations in the Atacama do receive marine fog, providing sufficient moisture for hypolithic algae, lichens and even some cacti. But in the region that is in the "fog shadow" of the high coastal crest-line - the crest-line of the coastal range averages 3,000 m for about 100 km south of Antofagasta - the soil has been compared to that of Mars.

Atacama road.

In 2003, a team of researchers published a report in Science magazine titled "Mars-like Soils in the Atacama Desert, Chile, and the Dry Limit of Microbial Life" in which they duplicated the tests used by the Viking 1 and Viking 2 Mars landers to detect life, and were unable to detect any signs in Atacama Desert soil. The region may be unique on Earth in this regard and is being used by NASA to test instruments for future Mars missions. Alonso de Ercilla characterized it in La Araucana, published in 1569: "Towards Atacama, near the deserted coast, you see a land without men, where there is not a bird, not a beast, nor a tree, nor any vegetation" (quoted Braudel 1984 p 388).

Human occupation

The Atacama is inhabited, though sparsely populated. In an oasis, in the middle of the desert, at an elevation of some 2000 meters, is the village of San Pedro de Atacama. Its church was built by the Spanish in 1577, but archeological evidence indicates that the San Pedro area was the center of a Paleolithic civilization that built rock fortresses on the steep mountains encircling the valley. The Escondida Mine and Chuquicamata are also located within the Atacama.

The Pan-American Highway runs through the Atacama in a north-south trajectory.

The European Southern Observatory operates two major observatories in the Atacama Desert:

  • The La Silla Observatory
  • The Paranal Observatory, which includes the Very Large Telescope.

A new radio astronomy observatory, called ALMA, is being built in the Atacama Desert by astronomers from Europe, Japan, and North America.

Another radio astronomy observatory, ACT, is being built on Cerro Toco in the Atacama Desert.

Abandoned nitrate mining towns

The Atacama has rich deposits of copper and other minerals, and the world's largest natural supply of sodium nitrate, which was mined on a large scale until the early 1940s. The Atacama border dispute between Chile and Bolivia began in the 1800s over these resources.

Currently, the Atacama Desert is littered with approximately 170 abandoned nitrate (or "saltpeter") mining towns, almost all of which were shut down decades after the invention of synthetic nitrate in Germany at the turn of the 20th century. Some of these abandoned towns include Chacabuco, Humberstone, Santa Laura, Pedro de Valdivia, Puelma, Maria Elena and Oficina Anita. Chacabuco is a special case since it was later converted into a concentration camp during Pinochet's regime. To this day it is surrounded by 98 lost landmines and is guarded by one man who lives there alone.

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wright, John W. (ed.) and Editors and reporters of The New York Times (2006). The New York Times Almanac, 2007, New York, New York: Penguin Books, 456. ISBN 0-14-303820-6. 

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Braudel, Fernand, The Perspective of the World, vol. III of Civilization and Capitalism 1984 (in French 1979).

See also

  • Atacama Crossing
  • Atacama border dispute
  • List of deserts by area

External links



Deserts
Ad-Dahna | Alvord | Arabian | Aral Karakum | Atacama | Baja California | Barsuki | Betpak-Dala | Chalbi | Chihuahuan | Dasht-e Kavir | Dasht-e Lut | Dasht-e Margoh | Dasht-e Naomid | Gibson | Gobi | Great Basin | Great Sandy Desert | Great Victoria Desert | Kalahari | Karakum | Kyzylkum | Little Sandy Desert | Mojave | Namib | Nefud | Negev | Nubian | Ordos | Owyhee | Qaidam | Registan | Rub' al Khali | Ryn-Peski | Sahara | Saryesik-Atyrau | Sechura | Simpson | Sonoran | Strzelecki | Syrian | Taklamakan | Tanami | Thar | Tihamah | Ustyurt

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