What is the name of the world’s driest non-polar desert?

The world’s driest non-polar desert is the Atacama Desert.

The Atacama lies along the Pacific coast of northern Chile and reaches into parts of southern Peru. Some locations receive almost no measurable rainfall, and certain weather stations have recorded years without rain. Its extreme dryness results from several factors working together: the cold Humboldt Current limits evaporation, the subtropical high-pressure belt encourages descending dry air, and the Andes block moist air from the east.

The desert is not uniformly rainless. Coastal fog called camanchaca can provide moisture to specialized plants and animals, especially in areas where rainfall is absent. Rare storms can also produce dramatic flower blooms in some parts of the region.

The Atacama is often compared with Mars because of its barren terrain and soil chemistry. It is not the world’s largest desert; Antarctica is larger, and the Sahara is the largest hot desert. “Driest non-polar” distinguishes the Atacama from the polar deserts.