Atacama Desert Ghost Town
Peru is a country of extremes, extremes of culture, language, history, architecture, flora, fauna, most noticeably by region. More than half of the country's Amazon jungle, you have the backs of the mighty Andes and finally the thin coastal strip of desert, running the entire length of the country. Beginning at the northern boundary of the Piura region of the desert is spreading from the coast between 20 to 100 kilometers in the Andes. The northern part is known as Sechura Desert and just drive from the city of Piura to Tumbes - Piura equatorial dry forests. The desert covers a total area of 188 735 square kilometers. The Peruvians call only the northwestern part of the coast Sechura Desert, while other sources like the World Wildlife Fund, believes Sechura Desert be whole landmass of the coastal desert from the most northwestern part of Peru, connecting to the Atacama desert in northern Chile. The coastal area of southern Peru Nazca below is considered as part of the Atacama Desert of the National Geographic Society, so definitions vary, but the sand does not! The Sechura desert in the north is relatively moist and wooded than the Atacama, which is known (by NASA) to be the driest place on the planet. In 1998, the climatic phenomenon called El Nino, which originate along this coast and affect weather patterns around the world on a regular basis, causing unusually heavy rains make rivers bordering the desert to blow up their banks and flow into the Sechura desert, which constitute the second largest body of water in Peru after Lake Titicaca. This lake was 90 miles long, 20 miles wide and 10 feet deep, with occasional domes of sand and clay that appear above the surface. Bushes and scrub still continue to cover large parts of the desert as a result. Due to the environmental effects of the nearby Pacific Ocean, has Sechura Desert a very low temperature. However, it is one of the most arid on earth because of the cold coastal waters and subtropical atmospheric subsidence. During the summer months December to March, temperatures range between 25 C to 38 ° ° C, with an average of over 24 ° C. During the winter months, the weather is clear and cold with temperatures between 16 ° C at night and 24 ° C during the day. Settlements have been developed in Sechura desert because of the many short rivers that cross the road down from the glaciers and rainfall in the Andes. An early urban culture was the Moche as its guinea pig, fish, peanuts and squash, and built huge mud brick cities, the largest of which still survives in part, Chan Chan near the town of Trujillo. Around 800-1300 AD Sicas succeeded the Moche and were known for their lost wax casting of gold that was very much appreciated by the Spanish conquistadors. More than 1,500 miles of desert continues south until it reaches Sechura Desert Atacama Desert belongs to Chile and Peru. This country is very barren with a few rocky hills brown, but was also home to ancient civilizations such as the Nazca with its impressive Nazca Lines, aquaduct and cities clay. West of the Andes Mountains in southern Peru and Chile, which covers a 600 km strip of land on the Pacific coast, is the Atacama Desert. It gets very little rain as it is on the downwind side of the mountains. It is therefore one of the driest deserts in the world and has an area of over 40,000 square miles consists mostly of sand, salt ponds (called rooms) and lava flows. The area is dotted with geysers and tourism has been based on 4x4 trips across the desert, with a number of luxury lodges and spa is being built and this "spiritual" landscape is sure to continue to attract visitors from around the world.
Valle Nevado ski center