A country of supreme beauty and ecological diversity, Chile is home to tundra, tropical rainforests, beaches, the mighty Andes Mountains; and the Atacama Desert – a virtually rainless plateau made of salt basins and lava flows.
It’s amazing to note that although certain portions of the Atacama Desert have not seen a single drop of rain ever since record keeping began, more than a million people reside in this 600 miles (1000 km) parched stretch of land. The desert rises upwards into a plateau from Chile’s thin coastal shelf and its center lies, what scientists call absolute desert, Earth’s driest place. Nothing lives there, nothing rots, and everything is preserved by the extreme lack of moisture.
The Atacama has become home to resilient farmers employing drip-irrigation systems, growing olives, cucumbers and tomatoes. Coastal fishers, llama and alpaca herders and a wide range of scientists and astronomers who relish the clear skies of Chile, have also made this desert their home.
You might also like
|
|
|
|
|
{ 1 comment }
