Atacama Desert

The Atacama is widely considered the driest non-polar desert on Earth, with some weather stations at high altitudes having never recorded measurable rainfall. Certain areas, such as the Yungay region, receive less than 1 millimeter of precipitation per year on average.

The Atacama's extreme aridity, high altitude, and minimal light pollution make it one of the best locations on Earth for astronomical observation. Major facilities situated there include the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT) on Cerro Paranal and the ALMA radio telescope array on the Chajnantor plateau.

The Atacama Desert is a narrow strip of arid land in northern Chile, situated between the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Andes Mountains to the east. It stretches roughly 1,000 kilometers along Chile's Pacific coast and is bounded by the coastal Cordillera de la Costa.

Some weather stations in the Atacama have never recorded measurable rainfall during their entire period of operation. However, rare weather phenomena such as El Niño can occasionally bring unusual precipitation, as occurred in 2011 when rain caused wildflowers to briefly bloom across parts of the usually barren landscape.