Which desert in northern Chile is one of Earth’s driest nonpolar deserts?
Answer
Atacama Desert
The Atacama Desert in northern Chile is one of Earth’s driest nonpolar deserts.
It lies mainly between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes, extending through Chile’s Antofagasta and Atacama regions. The cold Humboldt Current helps suppress evaporation and cloud formation, while the Andes create a rain shadow.
Some weather stations in the Atacama have recorded no measurable rainfall for years. However, the desert is not uniformly rainless: occasional storms can produce brief flowers and floods. The Atacama is also famous for astronomy because its high, dry air offers exceptionally clear skies.
It is sometimes confused with the entire coastal desert of Peru and Chile, but the Atacama usually refers more specifically to the Chilean section.