Atacama Desert
E1812
The Atacama Desert is an extremely arid plateau in northern Chile, renowned as one of the driest places on Earth and a premier site for astronomical observatories.
Aliases (5)
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
desert
→
geographical region → plateau → |
| averageAnnualRainfall |
less than 15 millimeters
→
|
| borders |
Pacific Ocean
→
|
| climateType |
hyper-arid
→
|
| contains |
Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array
→
La Silla Observatory vicinity → Paranal Observatory vicinity → Very Large Telescope sites (nearby in Atacama region) → |
| country |
Chile
→
|
| hasArea |
approximately 105000 square kilometers
→
|
| hasAtmosphericCondition |
low atmospheric water vapor
→
low cloud cover → low humidity → |
| hasEcosystemType |
cold desert
→
|
| hasElevationRange |
from sea level to over 4000 meters
→
|
| hasFeature |
dry valleys
→
rocky plateaus → salar de Atacama → salt flats → sand dunes → |
| hasMajorEconomicActivity |
mining
→
|
| hasNearbyCity |
Antofagasta
→
Calama → Iquique → |
| hasNearbyTown |
San Pedro de Atacama
→
|
| hasResource |
copper
→
lithium → nitrates → |
| hasSkyCondition |
high percentage of clear nights per year
→
|
| hasSoilCharacteristic |
high salinity
→
low organic content → |
| influencedBy |
Andes rain shadow effect
→
Humboldt Current → subtropical high-pressure systems → |
| knownFor |
astronomical observatories
→
being one of the driest places on Earth → extreme aridity → |
| locatedAlong |
Pacific coast
→
|
| locatedIn |
northern Chile
→
|
| locatedOnContinent |
South America
→
|
| partOf |
Andes region
→
|
| supportsActivity |
astronomy
→
geological research → space science testing → tourism → |
| usedAsAnalogFor |
Mars astrobiology studies
→
Martian surface → |