Our knowledge is a receding mirage in an expanding desert of ignorance. (Will Durant, historian)
You should not see the desert simply as some faraway place of little rain. There are many forms of thirst. (William Langewiesche, author)
No doubt about it – deserts are dry. Because all deserts are not created equal, where is the driest desert on our planet?
Embed from Getty ImagesSurely you didn’t guess the place in the image above, which is Death Valley in California. Besides, I’m confident the Atacama Desert quickly came to everyone’s mind.
Yes, the Atacama – a 600 mile (1,000 km) high plateau in Chile. The Atacama – sandwiched between the Andes Mountains to its east and the Pacific Ocean to its west. The Atacama – the land of stone, sand, and salt lakes. The Atacama – a land of unique flora and fauna that is sparsely populated by people.
Unlike previous posts in this series, today’s Explore provides two short looks at Atacama – an initial drive through the desert followed by the beauty of its night sky. Enjoy this journey to a land you may not have known until now.
A Frank Angle 
Yes Atacama is one of the driest desert….post is nicely composed….
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Ankita,
Welcome first-time commenter … and glad you enjoyed the trip to Atacama.
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Love deserts. From a distance. 🙂 Thanks for sharing, Frank.
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Mary,
Atacama seems to offer much more than shown in the first video. Seems like a fascinating place. Thanks for coming along the journey.
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There are some gorgeous views of the Milky Way in the second video, Frank! Thanks for posting.
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Tom,
I’ve had the first video on my radar for quite some time, but wasn’t totally satisfied. While searching for a companion video, pow … luckily the night sky found me!
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That night sky is spectacular!
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Merril,
Absolutely agree on that one! Atacama is also the home of several observatories.
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I think the driest desert on the planet is actually in Antarctica.
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X,
Correct … Atacama is the driest of the non-polar regions (which I intentionally left out).
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Imagine living there! I’d make all the windows face the sky! 😉
[here’s one for one of the best [if not the greatest] keyboardist, Keith Emerson – no longer with us https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni_LplFZWPk%5D
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Marina,
That song with the nice touch of the ivories goes well with this place. Thanks for the addition.
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Great post, Frank. I enjoyed both videos. Star-trail photography is something I’d love to be able to do. And there are places here in the Rockies where light pollution is still at a minimum. I can see why Atacama would be a popular place to put an observatory.
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Cathy,
I imagine you have some great view of the sky. Not I … so I hope to see the Milky Way some day! For more about Atacama observatories, see the link in Jim’s comment.
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It is on our list of things to do when we hit Chile some day. Having said that, have you read the Durant’s History of Civilization?
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John,
People that I know who have been to Chile loved it. Hope you get there. I haven’t been there or read the book.
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The books (11 volumes about 1000 pages) are a pretty different take on world history from a 1930’s. Very interesting the take from that era on a philosophy that has evolved considerably. A very different world view.
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It is a great place for astronomy and radio-astronomy. Here is much more than you want to know. 🙂
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Jim,
Thanks for the wonderful supplement to this post. Absolutely perfect!
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Looks like a fascinating place, Frank. A wonderful place to explore, if one were lucky enough to get there. 🙂
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Robin,
Nothing against the place, but I imagine most of us don’t have a Chile on our travel radar – let alone a Chilean desert. Glad you enjoyed this little journey.
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Thanks for the videos, Frank. They satisfied my fix of Atacama Desert. Now I will return to my regularly scheduled programming of glass, steel, soot, concrete and noise.
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Lame,
Atacama is quite the contrast from your regular surroundings … and with so many light the stars of the night sky must be scant.
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Even the moon appears to be under a coating of Vaseline over here, Frank.
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Now that’s funny!
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I find it perplexing that one desert can be drier than another. No, the Atacama Desert did not pop into my mind, but the song “Cool Water” did.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqSTERtXBTc think I sent this to you before?
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Resa,
Good song to for along for our trip to the desert. It seems many of the Atacama water pools are salt water, so following Johnny’s suggestion is a good idea.
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Been devoting my energies elsewhere for a month or so (if you want to know why, you can find out here: http://www.thebestadvicesofar.com/2016/03/11/when-the-dust-settles. But now, I’m happy to be getting back in the swing, of both writing and reading.
I needed this tonight. There really is nothing like the night sky when looking up from the desert, with no man-made light whatsoever interfering. It’s a strange combination of terror and exhilaration.
These are the very last words of the last paragraph of the last chapter of my book, The Best Advice So Far: “It’s a mindset. It’s purposefully keeping a sense of wonder and imagination … it’s about getting uncomfortable with the idea of staying in your comfort zone. It’s living as if there is more to life than the path I walked yesterday. Because there is.
Much more.”
Thanks for the timely reminder!
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Erik,
Amazing how some posts can be ever so timely for some. Glad we had synchronicity at work.
Absolutely loud cheers for the sense of wonder. For me, views of deep space capture that sense at a high level … good words from your book!
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I have always loved desert landscapes and nightscapes. I don’t know what draws me to them, but even as a child they were my favorite views. Thank you for these, wonderful.
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Val,
i know what you mean … and who knows what draws us to certain landscapes and scenes. Glad you enjoyed this little trip to a place not known by many.
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It has taken me some time to read your post–one of many of yours I have saved to read! I do love the deserts I know, including Death Valley. Thanks for introducing me to this Chilean desert. And the stars?! Incredible.
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Patti,
Hi there … and I hope all is well with you. Glad you saw this post because I know you love the desert!
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