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What factors contribute to the Atacama Desert being where it is and being so dry?
The Atacama Desert can attribute its astoundingly low precipitation to a combination of several “drying” factors: the subtropical high, a double rain shadow, and the cold ocean current running up the west coast of South America.
Why is Atacama Desert one of the driest in the world?
The Valley of the Moon, with Licancábur volcano in the background, Atacama Desert, Chile. Dry subsidence created by the South Pacific high-pressure cell makes the desert one of the driest regions in the world.
Why does the Atacama Desert get so little precipitation?
The Atacama is a desert not because mountains make a rain shadow, but because the ocean does. The water on the west part of Chile is quite cold, because it came from Antarctica. Moisture cannot stay in the cold air above the cold water, so mainly fog reaches the land, but very little rain.
What do you think are some reasons for the location of the Atacama Desert on the Pacific coast Why is the eastern side of South America so wet and the western side so dry?
The eastern part of the South Pacific anticyclone influences the climate of most of South America’s west coast, causing stable, subsiding air conditions that yield minimal precipitation. One of the world’s driest regions, the Atacama Desert along the northern coast of Chile, results from those conditions.
Why is Arica so dry?
The reason that Arica is so dry is its proximity to the Atacama Desert. This desert is so dry, that in parts, there is no life, even on a cellular level and in its existence, evidence would suggest parts of it have never received rain.
How dry is the Atacama Desert?
The Atacama Desert is one of the driest places on Earth. The Atacama is in the country of Chile in South America. In an average year, much of this desert gets less than 1 millimeter (0.04 inch) of rain! That makes it 50 times drier than Death Valley in California.
Why is Antofagasta so dry?
The Atacama Desert coast is subject to a climate of extreme aridity, and therefore generates a low average annual rainfall of 3.4 mm (0.13 in) (1970–2000), and the Town of Antofagasta itself receives an annual average of less than 0.1 mm (0.00 in) of rainfall per year, earning it the record as the world’s driest town.
What causes the dry conditions of the Atacama Desert?
Three different reasons contribute to the Atacama Desert being the driest place on earth. The first reason is that the desert sits on the wrong side of the Andes with regards to prevailing winds. As pictured above, the prevailing south-east trade winds carrying moist air are forced to rise.
Is the Atacama Desert the driest on Earth?
The driest place on earth is the Atacama Desert in Chile . It is a plateau that occupies a 600 mile strip of the Pacific coast on the western side of Andes Mountains. It is the only true desert on Earth that receives lower moisture than all the polar deserts.
Why is the Atacama Desert the driest region?
The Atacama desert is known as the driest desert in the world because the desert is tucked in the rain shadow region created by the Andes mountain and the Pacific ocean .
Why you should visit the Atacama Desert?
The Atacama Desert is a very, very dry place, making it ideal for stargazing. There are few clouds and no pollution. The sunset is otherworldly. The Valley of the Moon is where many people would go to see the breathtaking sunsets that turn the Andes mountain range in gold, red and pink.