7. Atacama Desert
Among the world’s most impressive deserts is also the Atacama Desert – a plateau situated along the coast of South America. It is the dries non-polar desert in the world, consisting of stony terrain, salt lakes, sand, but also lava flowing towards the Andes. The scientists believe that the Atacama Desert is the oldest desert on the Earth, being arid for at least 3 million years!
The Atacama is used by the NASA to test instruments for future Mars missions, as it was demonstrated that the soil from Atacama is very similar to that from Mars. So, astronomers, welcome! You can also find here two observatories: La Silla Observatory and the Paranal Observatory, that includes a very large telescope. Do not hesitate to explore the Lascar volcano and the flamingos from Salar de Atacama.
