Atacama Desert Facts

When are the most popular months to visit San Pedro de Atacama?

January and February

What were the plate movements 250 million years ago?

South American plate began moving away from the African plate as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge widened.

What is the Andean arc known for?

Stratovolcanoes and large, young calderas

What happens when warm air sits on top of cool air?

Temperature inversion making it almost impossible for rain to fall

What can the population become at San Pedro de Atacama?

Up to 10 000

Where can you travel to from San Pedro de Atacama?

Valle de la Luna, Valle de la Muerte, El Tatio Geysers, salt flats and active volcanoes.

High aridity?

Very dry, without moisture

Activities you can do from San Pedro de Atacama?

Walking, horseback riding, dune boarding, thermal pool bathing, sunset and sunrise viewing, stargazing, mountain biking, bird watching, volcano climbing and over landing trips to Bolivia and Argentina

What is cloud cover?

When clouds provide insulation for the Earth, leading to minimal daytime heating and nighttime cooling.

When does rain fall?

When the Humboldt current is replaced by a warmer tropical current from the north in a El Nino cycle

What caused the Valle de la Luna?

Wind erosion of the surrounding ranges

Characteristics of vegetation in the Atacama?

Withstand long periods of drought, protect themselves against heat and tolerate a certain amount of salt.

What does the Camanchaca cause?

'Fog forests' to grow in the Lomas region for they capture the moisture from the fog. These are only found in the Atacama.

What occurs in the Lomas region?

'Wetter' conditions lead to some chemical erosion

Average temperature?

0-25 degrees celsius

How much water does the Camanchaca supply the villages with?

10 000L of water a day

Size of El Tatio?

10km squared and is the third largest geyser field in the world and the highest geothermal field of it's magnitude.

How close are people now able to live to the Chuquicamata mine?

10km whereas before it was only 1.5km

What population does Chuquicamata support?

150 000 in Calama nearby

Location of El Tatio?

150km E of Calama

How many old nitrate towns are there?

170 abandoned towns that are preserved because of the lack of moisture (i.e. nothing rusts)

48m squared of fog leads to?

170L of water a day

When was the road built between Calama and San Pedro de Atacama?

1998

Where is Chuquicamata located?

240km east of Antofagasta.

How many people had to move?

25 000 and it took 8 years

When did the formation of the Andes begin?

250 million years ago

What is the population of San Pedro de Atacama?

2500

When did uplift occur?

27 million years ago.

Surface area of the Salar de Atacama?

2900km squared

How much copper is found in Chile?

30% of the world's known reserves

Average height of the Domeyko range?

3300m

How many visitors does Chuquicamata receieve?

40 000 per annum

How long have places been without water for?

400 years

How many volcanoes is in the CVZ?

44 active volcanoes

How much does Chuquicamata produce?

450 million T per annum

How big is Chuquicamata?

4x3x1km

Height of Mr Lascar?

5592m

Height of Licancabur?

5920m

Length of the Domeyko range?

600km

Height of San Pedro?

6145m

How many tourists visit San Pedro de Atacama on average per year?

70 000 tourists

It constitutes for how much of Chile's export earnings?

75%

How much water can the Saguaro cactus hold?

8000L

Where is San Pedro de Atacama located?

98km from Calama

What is La Pacana?

A caldera

What is the Humboldt current?

A cold ocean current from the Pacific that moderates temperatures along the coastline.

Chuquicamata is the... ?

Second largest open pit mine and had the world's greatest ore deposits

What does the high aridity cause on the volcanoes?

A high preservation of the structures and limited erosion in the interior of the stratovolcanoes.

Define xerophytic?

Able to survive in a dry environment

What caused the Salt Mountain Range?

Accumulation of material and destroyed by the Earth's movements and eroded further by wind and water

Where is tourism located in the coastal regions?

Antofagasta, Iquiqui and Arica.

When are the off-season months for San Pedro de Atacama?

April, May and October

Why are some mines being reopened?

Because of the growing trend for natural nitrate products, and thus there has been a resurgence in demand.

What general plants are in the Atacama?

Cacti, bushes and dry grasses.

What created salars?

Capillary action

What is the Domeyko range shaped by?

Fluvial and aeolian erosion

Melt-water springs cause?

Fluvial erosion

What does condensation cause?

Fog and a high humidity (from the temperature inversion)

What does the snow and ice cause in the Andes?

Freeze-thaw erosion and fluvial erosion

What does El Tatio include?

Fumaroles, geyers, boiling pools, mud pools and springs.

How has the make-up for San Pedro de Atacama changed in the last 20 years?

In 1998 there were two restaurants and a single hotel, but now there are over 30 hotels.

What is the Camanchaca?

It is a fog that rolls 50km inland up to 200 days of the year.

When does denudation occur?

It is continuous

What does a lack of vegetation result in?

Less protection for the surface

What is the average rainfall?

Less than 0.1mm a year

What are the roots of the Prickly Pear cactus like?

Long and shallow to provide maximum collecting area to capture moisture

Diurnal range?

Low, temperature seldom rise over 27 degrees

What tectonic plates meet below the Atacama?

Nazca Plate and the South American plate as the former sub ducts under the latter.

How is the Camanchaca fog 'caught'?

Nets hang vertically over a set of troughs. Fog condenses on the net's surface and the moisture drops into troughs, and the travels down to the villages in pipes.

What are the two main minerals mined in the Atacama region?

Nitrates and Copper

What does hot and dry conditions lead to?

Physical weathering of rocks

Examples of plants?

Saguaro cactus and prickly pear catus.

Where can water be found?

Salt lakes, snow (in higher elevations), underground, fog and dew

Where is the inland tourism based?

San Pedro de Atacama

Orographic rain (rain shadow)?

The Andes cause this. As the moist air condenses due to the cool temperatures moving up the Andes, the moisture within the clouds is removed in the form of rain and snow. This releases all moisture from the clouds before they reach the Atacama Desert

What were the plate movements 100 million years ago?

The South American plate began to move westwards, colliding with the smaller Nazca plate that sub ducted beneath the South American plate.

What caused the nitrate deposits?

The dry climate of the Atacama allowed the accumulation and preservation of nitrate deposits

What did the uplift of the Andes cause?

The rain shadow to develop and the lakes and rivers to dry up creating a desert environment

What have the older residents of San Pedro de Atacama done in response to the change?

They have moved back into the countryside to set up communities in the San Pedro river valley to grow alfalfa and corn and to rear animals.

What is the skin of the cactus like?

Thick, waxy skin that reflects some of the sun's heat and reduces loss of moisture

Formation of the Salar de Atacama?

To begin, the surface was a layer of volcanic material from the Andes but over the years, a salt deposit has been formed due to the precipitation of salt and minerals washed down rom the Andes.