The Atacama Desert is a by - word for fruitlessness , thedriest places on Earthoutside the pole . exclusion come in in El Niño years , and with the strength ofthis class ’s eventflash floodskilled twenty five people . There has been a positive side to this calamity however , with the ordinarily bare tilt brought to lifetime .
The Atacama in more normal time . quotation : adwo / shutterstock
The Atacama is so dry from a combining of therainshadow of the Andes to the east and the coldness of the Pacific Ocean to the Mae West .
Areas with average rainfall below 250 millemeters ( 10 inch ) per class are look at comeuppance ; even the wetter expanse of the Atacama get less than a one percent of that . In some parts rain has never been record . This , in combination with the high altitude , has made it anideal site forlarge telescopes .
Around theabsolute desertlies territory where rainwater is rarified , but not unknown . As in other deserts , life has acquire to survive the long dry periods , ready to burst forth when water becomes uncommitted , a phenomenon known asdesierto florido , the flowering desert .
A previous burst of flowers in the Atacama . credit entry : Ksenia Ragozina / Shutterstock
Credit : Flickr : Alejandro SoffiaCC By - NC - ND 2.0
El Niño gets its name from thewarming of the Pacific Ocean off Peru around Christmas time . The quick weewee produce more evaporation , and thus more chance of rainwater clouds reach the desert , while in other piece of the world El Niños fetch drouth .
Credit : Ksenia Ragozina / Shutterstock
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Top image fromFlickr : Juan Benavente BaghettiCC By - NC - ND 2.0
