Moon Valley (Atacama Desert)

Moon Valley (Atacama Desert)

CHILE

Chile’s Atacama Desert is a virtually rainless plateau in South America, extending 966 km between the Andes mountain range and the Pacific Ocean. It is created by the rain shadow of the Andes east of the desert. Measuring 181,300 square kilometers, it is made up of salt basins, sand and lava flows. Some15 million years old, the Moon Valley is 100 times more arid than California's Death Valley.