Expanded Virtual Tour of South America

South America Travel

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Virtual Tour of South America
Northern Chile

The stark Atacama desert is a vast change from the lush green, forested regions of the Lake District and Patagonia of Chile. Snow-capped mountains like Tarapaca, seen here, tower over the high desert, also called altiplano or pampa.

Photo from ArtToday
Photo displayed with the kind permission of Clarence Fisk	There is water in the desert, though, as evidenced here in Lake Chungara. For more detail about the northern desert, read guest author Clarence Fisk's trip report, in Spanish, Viaje Al Altiplano Chileno, I, detailing a trip to Parque Nacional del Rio Lauca, los Bofedales de Parinacota and Lago Chungara from Arica, and Viaje Al Altiplano Chileno, II about the trip from Antogagasta to Chuquicamata with a trip to San Pedro de Atacama.
"The coastal Atacama desert is the driest in the world and almost totally barren. The landscape of the moon offers an obvious comparison except that the Atacama has as its backdrop the towering Andes which block tropical storms from the Amazon Basin to the east. During the time of El Nino (changes in circulation of the sea surface occurring an average every seven years) there can be torrential rains in some areas of the desert causing flash floods and sudden, ephemeral bursts of vegetation." from www. interknowledge.com This washed-out road is a rare sight, but it happened after a flash flood.	Photo from ArtToday
Photos from the personal collection of your guide, Bonnie Hamre	Northern Chile occupies an area equivalent in size to two thirds of Italy. It appears barren and lifeless but has supported life for over 10,000 years. Evidence of man's presence here is found in the mummies dating from 18000 BC the oldest in the world yet to be discovered. You can see them in museum of San Miguel de Azapa near Arica where a diorama shows the daily activities of fishermen at the end of the Chinchorro period some 2,000 years ago. Other mummies are displayed in the museum in the Museo Gustavo LePaige in San Pedro de Atacama which also includes exhibits of Inca conquest, Spanish invasion and cultural anthropology. Additionally, Indians erected this fort at Lasana on the Río Loa to repel Inca advances.
These two photos were taken in the early 1960's, and display two contrasting views of the Atacama. The first shows that, like on many deserts, there are trees and vegetation. I can't place where this picture was taken, but it brings back many fond memories. This aerial view of Chuquicamata is a sight we'll never see again. The mine has grown to huge proportions, covering all the residential areas to the left of the mine. You can't see them from here, but there were clubs, schools, homes, tennis courts, a hospital and shops, plus all the copper smelting and processing buildings in the foreground.	Photos from the personal collection of your guide, Bonnie Hamre