Cuho here, as in space

Chilean Atacama Desert - driest place in the world even in the driest place on Earth is water on these incredibly dry mountains falls, on average, less than 0,1 mm of rain per year. Often in this precipitation does not fall over the years. In some areas of the Atacama Desert of rain was not more than 400 years. This desert stretches along the coast of Chile in South America - right from the Pacific Ocean - the largest container of water in the world. Much of the desert adjacent to the Andes and is fairly high above sea level. Unlike the more famous deserts, such as sub-Saharan Africa and the Mojave in California, the Atacama, oddly enough, pretty cool place, the range of average daily temperature here ranges from 0 ° C to 25 ° C. The road in the middle of the Atacama Desert Though very low rainfall (or lack thereof) and led to the formation of the desert here, it does not mean that in the Atacama never rain. From time to time near the equator due to heating of air over the Pacific Ocean there is an anomalous temperature distribution, resulting in changing weather throughout the world, and even in places like the driest desert, there may be rain and even thunder-storm or hurricane. Although the Atacama practically no rainfall, the water is and in this arid region, and you'll find it at the following locations: Salt Lake during the torrential downpours that came here long ago, here to collect enough water to form lakes. In some water got to the melting of ice at the end of the last glacial period. But in some lakes in the Andes, such as the Atacama, more water goes to evaporation than precipitation replenished, such lakes gradually dry up. Evaporation of water in it increases the concentration of mineral salts, leading to formation of very salty water. Snow in locations at high altitude, rainfall in the Atacama is not in the form of rain, and snow. On the tops of the mountains there are small areas with "eternal" snow: it is never so warm that the snow began to melt. Under the ground in whatever position of the Earth you go, no matter how much or how little there is rainfall, underground always have water. After the rain of the rainwater evaporates back into the air, but its most seeps into the soil and remains there, even in the desert. The amount of water and its location depends on many factors: soil composition, temperature, air and land, the amount and frequency of rainfall and other precipitation, and drainage of the surface. Since the Andes are volcanically active mountain range, in some places, the underground magma heats ground water, leading to the eruption of geysers. Fog and dew Most of precipitation falling on the Atacama have the form of fog, brought in by the Pacific Ocean. Fog is basically a cloud of the lower layer, consisting of steam, chilled and beginning to condense. If you ever fall into the fog, you know that it leaves a little moisture. When the air temperature reaches the dew point, water vapor in the air condenses, leaving only small droplets of water. The small number of creatures that are able to "survive" in the Atacama, there on the moisture remaining after the fog and dew. Living there anybody there? Most people are convinced that the desert is a place forgotten Mother Nature, and that no living creature will not want to live in such an arid place. Despite the fact that to find any living creature in the Atacama is very difficult, it has separate areas and small areas with plants, due to which, in turn, is supported by the existence of animals and insects. Some plant species are well adapted to dry conditions of the environment, grow core roots that go deep into the earth in search of water. In the salt lakes and surrounding living flocks of flamingos that feed on red algae growing in water. In the Atacama even live people. In the desert town of Calama, is full of motels, restaurants and shops, but it is definitely an exception, the only of its kind. Flamingos in the salt lake Much of the Atacama is a pretty desolate place. People lived in the Atacama for thousands of years, as evidenced by the archaeologists found the remains and cultural artifacts. South American Indians, held sway in the desert for millennia, have left traces of their culture and even themselves. As to the extreme arid Atacama, the body buried Indians survived in excellent condition, turned into a mummy. Some of the most ancient mummies found on Earth come from the Atacama Desert and employs a 9000 years! The mummy in the museum of the Chilean town of San Pedro de Atacama desert Why am I having? One reason is that the high atmospheric pressure in the region over the Andes leads to compression of dry cold air at high altitudes and its movement down to earth. This dry air contains almost no water vapor, so that the sun's rays to heat it quickly heated. It turns out that near the hot surface of the ground humidity is extremely low. Another reason is that in the Atacama do not have enough rainfall, is a phenomenon which is called the rain shadow. Warm, moist tropical air that brings the east trade winds, flood the rainforest of South America, has been delayed in the eastern Andes. The mountains are so high that the air cools, moisture condenses and falls to the surface as rain (or snow). When the air descends on the other side of the mountain chain, it heats up, hold moisture, so the probability of precipitation is extremely low. Rain shadow effect described meteorological effects, which led to the formation of the Atacama Desert, are responsible also for the other planetary record. It is because of them Amazon River and its basin are the largest in the world. Amazon is the largest river, because the mountain collect all the moisture, which is brought by trade winds. And the Atacama Desert for the same reason is the driest place on Earth, because in general does not receive precipitation that falls on the eastern side of the Andes. That is why the driest place on Earth and one of the wettest are next door! See also: Land Basin biggest edifice that was built on the planet living beings ... It flows from the rocks water ordinary record of a tsunami wave height Desert-record the largest lake in the world based on the volume and surface area record highs over the world have a rival Everest! The deepest point of the oceans where much warmer than the fridge of the planet is not very deep, but one of the longest caves Powerful tremors did not bring trouble, but the tsunami places of extreme temperatures longest river in the world as formed the largest seamounts Dead Sea - why is it called so? The place where the biggest annual rainfall Ice celestial bombardment Giants ice kingdom's longest bridge in the world