What is the Atacama Desert for kids?

The Atacama Desert is a desert. It is on the Tropic of Capricorn in northern Chile, and is one of the driest places on earth. In some places, less than an inch (25mm) of rain falls every ten years. Only one of the rivers from the Andes mountains reaches the ocean through the desert.

What is a fun facts about the Atacama Desert?

Driest Desert in the World – Studies conducted by NASA have concluded that this desert located in northern Chile is in fact the driest desert in the world. Some weather stations in the Atacama have never received rain.

What is the desert in Peru called?

Sechura Desert

Why is the Atacama Desert so dry for kids?

The aridity of the Atacama desert occurs because of its placement between two mountain chains – The Andes and the Chilean Coast Range. These high altitude barriers prevent moisture from the Pacific or Atlantic Oceans to penetrate.

Why is Atacama a desert?

Why is the Atacama Desert so dry? The Atacama Desert is located in a zone called the “shadow of rain”. Basically, there is an absence of rains and high evaporation. These natural, complex, and dynamic factors make the Atacama Desert an incredibly dry place.

Where is the Atacama Desert?

northern Chile
Atacama Desert, Spanish Desierto de Atacama, cool, arid region in northern Chile, 600 to 700 miles (1,000 to 1,100 km) long from north to south. Its limits are not exactly determined, but it lies mainly between the south bend of the Loa River and the mountains separating the Salado-Copiapó drainage basins.

Why is the Atacama Desert famous?

1. The Atacama Desert sits between the Andes and Chilean Coast Range at such a height that prevents moisture reaching it from the Pacific or Atlantic Oceans. It receives less than 1mm of rainfall per year and some parts of the desert have no recorded rainfall at all. The desert is also famous for mining copper.

What is the weather in Atacama Desert?

The climate is magnificent throughout the year, with more than 90% of the days being radiant. In winter (June, July and August) the average daytime temperature is 22°C (72°F) and by night 4°C (39°F), descending to -2°C (28°F) in extreme cases; days are very pleasant, inviting you to lay in the sun’s corridors.

How big is the Sechura desert?

5,000 km²
Sechura Desert/Area

Is the Sechura Desert Hot?

Because of the upwelling of cold coastal waters and subtropical atmospheric subsidence, the desert is one of the most arid on Earth. Summer (December through March) is warm and sunny with temperatures above 35 °C (95 °F) during the day, and temperatures that average over 24 °C (75 °F).

How Atacama Desert was formed?

Once they have passed the Andes, the clouds no longer have water and there is no possibility of rainfall to the other side. This complete blockage of precipitation coming from the east, has caused over thousands of years, the formation of the Atacama Desert.

Why is Atacama Desert the driest desert?

What makes the Sechura Desert in Peru so arid?

The Sechura Desert is a desert located south of the Piura Region of Peru along the Pacific Ocean coast and inland to the foothills of the Andes Mountains. Its extreme aridity is caused by the upwelling of cold coastal waters and subtropical atmospheric subsidence, but it is also subject to occasional flooding…

How did the city of Sechura get its name?

The city lends its name to the Sechura Desert, which extends south along most of coastal Peru. Crescent dunes lie south of the city, between the sea and the highway. The city has a main square with the Catédral de Sechura, built in the 18th century in the Spanish colonial style.

What kind of people lived in the Sechura Desert?

The numerous short rivers that cross the Sechura supported prehistoric indigenous human settlements for millennia. A number of urban cultures flourished here, including the Moche. The Moche thrived on fish, Guinea pigs, squash and peanuts.

Where is the capital of Sechura in Peru?

Sechura is a city in northwestern Peru, 50 km south of Piura. It is the capital of Sechura Province in the Piura Region. The city lends its name to the Sechura Desert, which extends south along most of coastal Peru. Crescent dunes lie south of the city, between the sea and the highway.