The Atacama Desert is located just west of the Andes, a 1000-km strip  of land next to the Pacific Ocean. In spite of its location beside the sea, several studies have shown that this region is the driest place in the world. In the Antofagasta Region of the desert, the average annual rainfall is just 1 mm and some weather stations have never received rain at all. Atacama is so  _ that the surrounding mountains that reach up to 6885 m, have  ly no glaciers! In the region, the river beds have been dry for over 120,000 years. However, unlike the Sahara Desert,Atacama is surprisingly not that hot. It has an average daily temperature between 0'C and 25degC! If you find that surprising, you'd be shocked to find out that this desert has lakes!  When there was rainfall in the region (many year ago), this accumulated water created what we now know as the Salt Lakes. The name of these lakes was given as a result of the effect of the Atacama environment: the long dry period makes the water evaporate ,resulting in the higher concentrations of salt in the remaining water. This region has been tested by scientists to see if life is present in the Atacama soil with the same instruments that would be used to detect life in the soil on Mars! As a result of the soil's similarites to that of Mars,the Atacama land is used to test instruments for future Mars missions. In addition, the region has been used in movies as a set for filming Mars scenes, most famously in the television show Space Odyssey: Voyage to the Planets.  The Atacama Desert is truly a unique place, due to its lack of rain as well as its similarities to Mars. You would think that this place would be a bare ghost town  , but think again! Many people have lived here for centuries, giving this desert its own culture and economic significance. Compared to the Sahara Desert,the Atacama Desert is   _  .
smaller wetter less famous less hot