What is the climate of Atacama?
John Peck
Updated on April 02, 2026
Old, hot and dry The Atacama is the oldest desert on Earth and has experienced semiarid conditions for roughly the past 150 million years, according to a paper in the November 2018 issue of Nature. The average temperature in the desert is about 63 degrees F (18 degrees C).
What biome is Calama Chile?
Atacama Desert
Calama is a city and commune in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. It is the capital of El Loa Province, part of the Antofagasta Region. Calama is one of the driest cities in the world with average annual precipitation of just 5 mm (0.20 in)….Calama, Chile.
| Calama | |
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| Website | Official website (in Spanish) |
Why is the Atacama Desert an extreme environment?
The Atacama Desert Coastal Range is a 3100 kilometers long mountain range that runs along the western margin of the Atacama. These combined rain shadows are two of the reasons that explain the extreme aridness of the Atacama, which extends from 15 to 30°S, from sea level up to 3500 m (Houston and Hartley, 2003).
What is significant about the Atacama Desert in Chile?
The Atacama Desert is the driest nonpolar desert in the world, as well as the only true desert to receive less precipitation than the polar deserts and the largest fog desert in the world. Both regions have been used as experimentation sites on Earth for Mars expedition simulations.
What is the weather in the 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.
Does it rain in Calama?
The sliding 31-day quantity of rainfall in Calama does not vary significantly over the course of the year, staying within 0.1 inches of 0.1 inches throughout.
What is the driest place on Earth?
the Atacama Desert
It is important to note that there does exist an even more arid desert on the planet: the dry valleys of Antarctica. Which is why it’s more precise to say that the Atacama Desert is the driest non-polar place in the world.
Is Atacama Desert cold or hot?
The Atacama is the driest hot desert in the world. There are some weather stations in the Atacama where there has never been any rain! Not all deserts are hot. The Dry Valleys in Antarctica are cold deserts.
Why does Atacama have no rain?
This dry air has almost no water vapor so it can be easily heated by the sun, causing high ground temperatures with very low humidity. Another reason that the Atacama doesn’t get enough rainfall is because of a phenomenon called rainshadow.
What is the weather in Atacama Desert?
Is Atacama hot?
Even though the Atacama is the driest place in the world that does not mean it is the hottest. The Atacama Desert is actually a really cold place with temperatures ranging from 0 to 30 degrees. Three countries fought the War of the Pacific in the 1880s for control of the desert.
