Chile,Travel,Destination,Ataca travel,insurance Chile Travel Destination: Atacama
Torres del Paine is among the biggest of Chiles national parks, occupying almost 600,000 acres (242,000 ha) of land in the south on the border with Argentina. It is also among the most important, receiving a significant proportion of domes Like any American, traveling occasionally is just what I love doing and I bet you share the same stuff with me. But traveling does not mean that you would be safe. Escaping from our job and other stressful activities is just something that w
The Atacama Desert in northern Chile is the driest place on planet Earth. It extends from just below the Chile/Peru border until 30° south, around 240 miles north of Santiago. The average rainfall is recorded to be .04 inches per year, which essentially means it never rains. Even the Sahara gets almost .8 inches while the Gobi Desert sees a whopping 7.6 inches per year. So what makes a desert a desert? Generally, a desert is defined as a region that receives less than 10 inches of rain in a year, so we can be certain that Atacama measures up and that by definition, many of the deserts in the world probably dont even compare to the dryness of this desolate region in Chile. So why would anyone want to go there? Well, for starters, its absolutely beautiful and its rare climate makes it one of the most unique landscapes in the world. Watching the sunset from the Valley of the Moon, standing on a giant sand dune, overlooking distant volcanoes and a surreal lunar landscape, Atacama is truly a necessary Chile travel destination. Thought to be between 10 and 15 million years old, the Atacama Desert in addition to the title of driest desert in the world, it is also the oldest desert in the world. Scientists are very interested in Atacama in order to study how little water life needs to survive. In fact, a lot of what they are learning in their studies of Atacama is relating to questions about life on Mars, and other distant planets. While a field trip to Mars is far too expensive and farfetched for the time being, driving into the Atacama Desert is a practical and useful compromise. There are two important characteristics to the climate on Mars. It is very dry, but also, it is very, very cold. This means that any existing water would be in the form of ice. Though Atacama is very dry from Earths perspective, it still doesnt compare to the dryness of Mars today. What scientists believe however, is that at one time, Mars had water flowing on the surface, much the way Earth does today. They see evidence of stream beds, polar caps, and spectroscopic measurement, which is the study of the interaction between radiation and matter. So scientists are studying the survival of life in the Atacama Desert in order to relate it to the possibilities of life having existed on Mars before it basically froze over. Common mold for example has the ability to survive on very little, sucking even the slightest bit of humidity from the air. Mold isnt exactly as interesting as the image of alien life we like to conjure up in our heads but the point is mostly that its a start. So far, they havent discovered much in Atacama. There is a large presence of nitrate, which accumulates on desert rocks over a long period of time in the desert. If there was bacteria and other life present, theyd be using up the nitrate, preventing it from accumulating. They have found some oxidizing soils and are focusing a lot of their attention on these. They will continue to use Atacama as an outdoor laboratory despite its weak relationship with conditions on Mars. Theres just no place else in the world that comes closer. So, if you are interested in traveling to another planet, and youre not an astronaut, you just might find some of what you are looking for in the Atacama Desert. It may be lacking in rainfall but it certainly isnt lacking in beauty.
Chile,Travel,Destination,Ataca