how cold is the atacama desert

Is Atacama the coldest desert in the world?

Note: The coldest desert of the globe is Antarctica, however, we've to answer per the choices on the market.

Is the Atacama Desert a cold desert?

Cold Desert The average temperature of the site ranges from 0 °C to 30 °C. Whilst it's normal deserts drop in temperature at the night, the Atacama desert retains its cooler temperature throughout the day due to the influx of cold ocean air.

What is the highest temperature of Atacama Desert?

The temperature in the Atacama Desert can reach highs of around 104°F (40°C) during the dayime, whilst falling to temperatures of 41°F (5°C) or below at night. The Atacama Desert is 50 times drier than Death Valley.

Why is the Atacama Desert so cold?

This cold ocean current cools the air above it. Cold air can't hold as much water vapor as warm air so it dries out any water left in the air. This mix of mountains, winds, and ocean currents combines to make the Atacama incredibly dry. The Atacama is also one of the oldest deserts in the world.

What is hottest desert in the world?

Death Valley holds the record for the highest air temperature on the planet: On 10 July 1913, temperatures at the aptly named Furnace Creek area in the California desert reached a blistering 56.7°C (134.1°F). Average summer temperatures, meanwhile, often rise above 45°C (113°F).

What country has no rain?

Discussion. The world's lowest average yearly precipitation in 0.03" (0.08 cm) during a 59-year period at Arica Chile. Lane notes that no rainfall has ever been recorded at Calama in the Atacama Desert, Chile.

Does Atacama Desert have snow?

The Atacama Desert has been experiencing an unusual amount of snow. The cold front that came through the region dumped nearly 32 inches of snow on the desert -- more snow then the region has seen in the last half-century.

What's the driest place on Earth?

The AtacamaThe Atacama is the driest place on earth, other than the poles. It receives less than 1 mm of precipitation each year, and some areas haven't seen a drop of rain in more than 500 years. Forget “photo-worthy” or “memorable.” The landscapes here inspired Salvador Dalí paintings.

Where is the driest place on Earth?

The Atacama DesertThe Atacama Desert in Chile, known as the driest place on Earth, is awash with color after a year's worth of extreme rainfall.

What is the coldest place on Earth?

Where is the coldest place on Earth?1) Eastern Antarctic Plateau, Antarctica (-94°C) ... 2) Vostok Station Antarctica (-89.2°C) ... 3) Amundsen-Scott Station, Antarctica (-82.8°C) ... 4) Denali, Alaska, United States of America (-73°C) ... 5) Klinck station, Greenland (-69.6°C) ... 6) Oymyakon, Siberia, Russia (-67.7°C)More items...

What is the coldest driest place on Earth?

The Antarctic, commonly referred to as the South Pole region, has the coldest temperature ever recorded at -89.2 degrees Celsius, -128.5 degrees Fahrenheit. Perhaps the strangest fact is that the Antarctic is actually a desert! The continent has the least rainfall and is the driest of all the continents.

Does anything live in the Atacama desert?

Because of the desert's extreme aridity, only a few specially adapted mammal species live in the Atacama, such as Darwin's leaf-eared mouse. The less arid parts of the desert are inhabited by the South American gray fox and the viscacha (a relative of the chinchilla).

What type of desert is Atacama?

nonpolar desertThe 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.

Which is the cold desert in the world?

AntarcticaThe largest desert on Earth is Antarctica, which covers 14.2 million square kilometers (5.5 million square miles). It is also the coldest desert on Earth, even colder than the planet's other polar desert, the Arctic. Composed of mostly ice flats, Antarctica has reached temperatures as low as -89°C (-128.2°F).

Why is the Atacama Desert Hot?

The first factor, the subtropical high, is a global wind and pressure belt that can be found around 30 degrees North or South, right around where the Atacama Desert is. This pressure belt stretches around the world at this latitude and suppresses the formation of clouds by making it difficult for air to rise.

What biome is called the cold desert?

The Atacama Desert of Chile in South America is an example of a coastal desert. Cold deserts are still dry but have extremely low temperatures in comparison to the other types of deserts. The Antarctic is an example of a cold desert.