The Atacama Desert (Spanish: Desierto de Atacama ) is a highland in South America (mainly in Chile), covering 1000- km (600-mile) strip of land on the Pacific coast, to the west of the Andes. It is the world's driest desert, as well as the only true desert to receive less rainfall than the polar desert. According to estimates, the Atacama Desert occupies 105,000 km of 2 (41,000 sq,, mi), or 128,000 km 2 (49,000 sq./n mi) if the barren lower slopes of the Andes are included. Most of the desert consists of rocky terrain, salt lakes ( salares ), sand, and felsic lava that flows into the Andes.
Geographically, Atacama is described as being located between two chain chains (Andes and Chili Coast) with enough heights to prevent both moisture rises from the Pacific or the Atlantic Ocean, two-sided rain shadows.
Video Atacama Desert
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According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, the Atacama Desert Ecoregion occupies a sustainable path of nearly 1,600 km along a narrow coastline in Chile's northern third, from Arica (18 Â ° 24'S) to the south to nearby La Serena (29 Â ° 55'S). The National Geographic Society considers the southern Peru coastal region to be a part of the Atacama Desert and also includes a desert in the southern Ica Region of Peru.
Peru is bordered to the north and the Chilean Matorral ecoregion is bordered to the south. To the east lies a dry dry mound. The drier part of the ecoregion is located south of the Loa River between Sierra VicuÃÆ'Â ± a Mackenna and Cordillera Domeyko. To the north of Loa lies Pampa del Tamarugal.
Coastal Cliffs Chile's northern western part of the Chilean Coast is a major topographic feature of the coast. Geomorphology The Atacama Desert has been characterized as a low-relief bench "similar to a raised gigantic porch" by Armijo and co-workers. The middle depression (or Central Valley) forms a series of endokheic basins in many of the Atacama Desert in the southern latitudes 19 Â ° 30'S. In the north of this latitude, the middle depression flows into the Pacific Ocean.
Maps Atacama Desert
Climate
Although hardly any rain is the most prominent feature of the Atacama Desert, exceptions can occur. In July 2011, an extreme Antarctic cold front broke through the shadows of rain, carrying 80 cm (31 inches) of high snow to the plateau, striking people across the region, especially in Bolivia, where many drivers were trapped in snow and emergency crews became overtaxed with a large number of rescue calls.
In 2012, winter altiplano brings floods to San Pedro de Atacama.
On March 25, 2015, torrential rains affect the southern part of the Atacama Desert. The resulting floods triggered mud that affected Copiapo cities, Tierra Amarilla, Chanaral, and Diego de Almagro, causing the deaths of over 100 people.
Aridity
The Atacama Desert is commonly known as the driest nonpolar place in the world, especially around the abandoned city of Yungay (in Antofagasta, Chile). The average rainfall is about 15 mm (0.6 inches) per year, although some locations, such as Arica and Iquique, receive 1 to 3 mm (0.04 to 0.12 inches) in a year. In addition, some weather stations in Atacama never receive rain. Periods of up to four years have been registered without rain in the central sector, limited by the cities of Antofagasta, Calama, and CopiapÃÆ'³, in Chile. Evidence suggests that Atacama may not have significant rainfall from 1570 to 1971.
The Atacama desert may be the world's oldest desert, and has experienced extreme hyperpirit for at least 3 million years, making it the oldest continuously dry region on earth. Long history of aridity increases the likelihood that supergene mineralization, under the right conditions, can form in a dry environment, rather than requiring moisture. Geological research shows that in some parts of the Atacama Desert, as in Chile today, hyperaridity has lasted for the last 200 million years (since Triassic), competing only with Namib Africa's Desert for such titles.
The atacama is so dry that many mountains higher than 6,000 m (20,000 ft) are completely glacier-free. Only the highest peak (such as Ojos del Salado, Monte Pissis, and Llullaillaco) that has permanent snowflakes.
The southern portion of the desert, between 25 and 27  ° S, may be glacier-free throughout Quaternary (including during glacial), although permafrost extends to 4,400 m (14,400 ft) high and continuously above 5,600 Ã, m (18,400 f ft). Studies by a group of British scientists claim that some of the riverbeds have dried up for 120,000 years. However, some locations in Atacama accept locally known sea fog as camanchaca , provide sufficient moisture for hypolytic algae, moss, and even some cactus - the genus Copiapoa is well known in between this.
Geographically, Atacama is described as being located between two chain chains (Andes and Chili Coast) with enough heights to prevent both moisture rises from the Pacific or the Atlantic Ocean, two-sided rain shadows.
Comparisons to Mars
In an area about 100 km (60 mi) south of Antofagasta, which averages 3,000 m (10,000 ft), the ground has been compared to Mars. Because of its appearance from another world, Atacama has been used as a location to film the Mars scene, especially in the Space Odyssey television series: Voyage to the Planets.
In 2003, a team of researchers published a report in which they doubled the tests used by Viking 1 and Viking 2 Mars landing to detect life, and could not detect any signs in Atacama Desert land in the Yungay region. This area may be unique on Earth in this respect, and is being used by NASA to test instruments for future Mars missions. The team doubled the Viking test in Earth-like Martian environments and found that they missed signs of life in soil samples from the Antarctic dry valleys, the Atacama Desert of Chile and Peru, and other regions. However, by 2014, the newly reported hyperarid site, MarÃÆ'a Elena South, is much drier than Yungay, and thus, the environment like Mars is better.
In 2008, Phoenix Mars Lander detected perchlorate on the surface of Mars at the same site where water was first discovered. Perchlorate is also found in Atacama and an associated organic nitrate deposit, leading to speculation that the signs of life on Mars are not in conflict with the perchlorate. The Atacama is also a test site for the NASA-funded Earth Caves Detection Program.
Flora
Despite the geographical and climatic conditions of the desert, the rich variety of flora has evolved there. More than 500 species have been collected at the border of this desert. These species are characterized by their extraordinary ability to adapt to these extreme environments. The most common species are herbs and flowers such as thyme, llareta, and saltgrass ( Distichlis spicata), and where enough moisture, trees such as chaÃÆ' Â ± ar ( Geoffroea decorticans ), pimiento trees, and leafy algarrobo ( Prosopis chilensis ).
Llareta is one of the highest growing wood species in the world. Found at altitudes between 3,000 and 5,000 m (9,800 and 16,400 feet). Its solid shape is similar to a pillow with a thickness of 3 to 4 m (9.8 to 13.1 feet). It concentrates and retains the heat of the day to cope with the low night temperatures. The recent growth rate of llareta is estimated at about 1.5 cm per year, making many llaretas over 3,000 years old. This produces a very valuable resin, where the mining industry once harvested indiscriminately as fuel, making this plant threatened.
Deserts are also home to cacti, succulents, and other plants that thrive in dry climates. Cactus species here include Candelabro ( Browningia candelaris ) and Cardon ( Echinopsis atacamensis ), which can reach a height of 7 m (23 feet) and a diameter of 70 cm (28 in).
The Atacama desert flowering (Spanish: desierto florido ) can be seen from September to November in years with sufficient rainfall, as it did in 2015.
Fauna
The Atacama Desert Climate limits the number of animals that live permanently in these extreme ecosystems. Some parts of the desert are very dry, no plants or animals can survive. Outside this extreme, grass-colored grasshoppers mingle with gravel on the desert floor, and their bees and larvae provide valuable food sources in lomas (hills). Deserts of deserts and butterflies can be found during warm and humid seasons, especially in lomas. Red scorpions also live in the desert.
The unique environment is provided by some lomas, where the mist from the oceans provides enough moisture for seasonal crops and some animal species. Surprisingly some species of reptiles inhabit the desert and even fewer species of amphibians. Chaunus atacamensis , toad Vallenar or Atacama toad, living in lomas , the place to spawn in a pond or a permanent stream. Iguanas and lava lizards inhabit parts of the desert, while flat salt lizards, Liolaemus , live in dry areas bordering the oceans. One species, Liolaemus fabiani , endemic to Salar de Atacama, Atacama salt flats.
Birds are probably the largest animal group in Atacama. Humboldt penguins live throughout the year along the coast, nesting on the cliffs of the desert overlooking the ocean. In the salt plains near the Pacific and the outback, the Andes flamingos are coming to eat algae. Other birds (including species of hummingbirds and sparrows) visit lomas seasonally to eat insects, nectar, seeds, and flowers. The lomas help defend some endangered species, such as the endangered Chilean woodstar.
Due to the extreme aridity of the desert, only a few mammal species that specially adapt live in the Atacama, like the leaf-eared Darwin rat. The less dry arid part is populated by the gray fox of South America and viscacha (kin chinchilla relatives). Larger animals, such as guanacos and vicuÃÆ' Â ± as, are scratched in areas where grass grows, mainly because it is watered seasonally by melting snow. VicuÃÆ'Â ± as the need to stay near a stable water supply, while guanacos can venture into more dry areas and last longer without fresh water. Seals and sea lions often gather along the coast.
Human presence
The Atacama is sparsely populated, with most cities located along the Pacific coast. In the hinterland, oases and several valleys have been inhabited for thousands of years and are the site of the most advanced pre-Columbian community found in Chile.
Chinchorro Culture
Chinchorro culture flourished in the Atacama Desert region from 7,000 to 1,500 BC. These people are sedentary fishermen who inhabit most of the coastal areas. Their presence was found from cities in Ilo, in southern Peru, to Antofagasta in northern Chile. The presence of fresh water in dry areas on the coast facilitates human settlements in these areas. Chinchorro is famous for its detailed mummification and funeral practices.
Later on, the Atacama oasis has experienced little population growth and urban development. During the 20th century, they have experienced water resources conflicts with coastal cities and the mining industry.
San Pedro de Atacama, about 2,400 m (8,000 ft), like many other small towns. Prior to the Inca empire and before the arrival of Spain, the very dry interior was inhabited mainly by the AtacameÃÆ' Â ± o tribe. They are famous for building fortified cities called pucarÃÆ'¡s, one of which is located a few kilometers from San Pedro de Atacama. The city's church was built by the Spanish in 1577.
Coastal towns originated in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries during the Spanish Empire period, when they emerged as delivery ports for silver produced at PotosÃÆ' and other mining centers. During the 19th century, the deserts were under the control of Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. With the discovery of sodium nitrate deposits and as a result of unclear borders, the area soon became a conflict zone and resulted in the Pacific War. Chile annexed most of the desert, and cities along the coast developed into international ports, accommodating many of the Chilean workers who migrated there.
With the boom of guano and saltpeter in the 19th century, the population grew immensely, largely as a result of immigration from the center of Chile. In the 20th century, the nitrate industry declined and, at the same time, the largely desert male population became increasingly problematic for the country of Chile. Miners and mining companies are in conflict, and protests spread throughout the region.
Leave the nitrous mine city
The desert is rich in deposits of copper and other minerals and the world's largest supply of natural sodium nitrate, mined on a large scale until the early 1940s. The Atacama border is debating this resource between Chile and Bolivia beginning in the 19th century and resulted in the Pacific War.
The desert is littered with about 170 abandoned nitrous mine (or "belching") cities, almost all closed for decades after the discovery of synthetic nitrate in Germany at the turn of the 20th century (see Haber process). Cities include Chacabuco, Humberstone, Santa Laura, Pedro de Valdivia, Puelma, Mara Elena, and Oficina Anita.
The Atacama Desert is rich in metallic mineral resources such as copper, gold, silver and iron, as well as non-metallic minerals including important deposits of boron, lithium, sodium nitrate, and potassium salts. Salar de Atacama is the place where biskofit is extracted. This resource is utilized by various mining companies such as Codelco, Lomas Bayas, Mantos Blancos, and Soquimich.
Astronomical observatory
Due to its high altitude, almost nonexistent expanse of clouds, dry air, and lack of light pollution and radio interference from many populated cities and towns, this desert is one of the best places in the world to perform astronomical observations. The European Southern Observatory operates two major observatories in Atacama:
- La Silla Observatory
- The Paranal Observatory, which includes the Very Large Telescope
A new radio astronomical telescope, called the Atacama Large Millimeter Array, built by European, Japanese, American, Canadian and Chilean countries at the Llano de Chajnantor Observatory was officially opened on October 3, 2011. A number of radio astronomy projects, such as the CBI , ASTE and ACT, among others, have been operating in the Chajnantor region since 1999.
Other uses
Sports
The Atacama Desert is popular amongst all-terrain sports enthusiasts. Various championships have taken place here, including Under Atacama Rally, Lower Chile Rally, Patagonia-Atacama Rally, and the last edition of Dakar Rally. The rally is organized by the Amaury Sports Organization and was held in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. The desert desert is an ideal rally place located in the suburb of CopiapÃÆ'³. The 2013 Dakar 15 Day Rally starts on 5 January in Lima, Peru, through Chile, Argentina and back to Chile ending in Santiago. Visitors also use the Atacama Desert sand dunes for sandboarding (Spanish: duna ).
A week-long foot race called Atacama Crossing has its competitors across the Atacama landscape.
An event called Volcano Marathon occurred near the Lascar volcano in the Atacama Desert.
Solar car race
Eighteen solar-powered cars are on display in front of the presidential palace ( La Moneda ) in Santiago in November 2012. The cars then ran as far as 1,300 km (810 mi) through the desert from 15-19 November 2012..
Tourism
Most of the people who go to the tourist attractions in the desert live in the town of San Pedro de Atacama. The Atacama Desert is located in the top three tourist locations in Chile. The specially commissioned ESO hotel is reserved for astronomers.
El Tatio Geyser
About 80 geysers occur in the valley about 80 km from the town of San Pedro de Atacama. They are closer to the city of Chiu Chiu.
Termas BaÃÆ' Â ± os de Puritama
BaÃÆ' ± os de Puritama adalah kolam batu yang berjarak 37 mil dari geyser.
Galeri
Area terlindungi
- Taman Nasional Pan de AzÃÆ'ºcar
- Pampa del Tamarugal National Reserve
- La Chimba National Reserve
Legends
- Alicanto
- Raksasa Atacama
Lihat juga
Referensi
Catatan
Bibliografi
Tautan eksternal
- "Tanah Seperti Mars di Gurun Atacama, Chile, dan Batas Kering Kehidupan Mikroba", Siaran Pers NASA
- "Keliling robot menemukan kehidupan gurun", artikel di Nature
- "Seorang Wanita di Gurun Atacama, dari blog wisata A Lady in London
- Artikel rinci yang dikeluarkan oleh Masyarakat Geologi Amerika tentang sejarah kegersangan Gurun Atacama
- Galeri Foto Gurun Atacama, foto berbagai lanskap, flora dan fauna Gurun Atacama
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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