The Atacama desert has had no rain for 400 years
How Much Rain Does The Atacama Desert Get?
The Atacama Desert situated in the South American nation of Chile is known as the driest spot on Earth; the desert extending for a distance of 160 km in the northern part of Chile is surrounded on both sides by lofty mountains which block the area from receiving any moisture receiving as little as 1 mm rainfall annually.
Some of the weather stations situated in the region have not recorded rain for as long as 40 years and the nature of the soil has been observed to resemble the gravel found on the Moon and Mars; currently the desert is the site of investigation for scientists from NASA. The area receives moisture by way of fog that envelopes part of the desert supporting the scanty vegetal cover.
The desert in the past was the site of extensive mining for sodium nitrite which was used in manufacturing explosives; however after artificial sodium nitrite was synthesized the mines have been abandoned.
Some of the weather stations situated in the region have not recorded rain for as long as 40 years and the nature of the soil has been observed to resemble the gravel found on the Moon and Mars; currently the desert is the site of investigation for scientists from NASA. The area receives moisture by way of fog that envelopes part of the desert supporting the scanty vegetal cover.
The desert in the past was the site of extensive mining for sodium nitrite which was used in manufacturing explosives; however after artificial sodium nitrite was synthesized the mines have been abandoned.