Dewey Decimal983/.14
SynopsisThe desert is a difficult place in which to live. Yet, 13 percent of the world's people live in desert habitats. Spectacular photography highlights this series about the world's major desert systems. Each title focuses on one desert, describing its topography, climate, plant and animal life, unique geographical features, human cultures, and the problems facing the region. The Atacama Desert The Valle de la Luna, or Valley of the Moon, in the Atacama Desert in Chile is considered to be one of the driest places on Earth. Some areas have not received rain for hundreds of years. Its large craters, miles of desolate sand and rocky surfaces, strangely carved rocks, and volcanic peaks make it comparable to the Moon's surface. In fact, the Atacama's soil is so similar to soil samples from Mars that NASA goes to this desert to test its exploration instruments. Marked by geoglyphs, enormous designs scraped into the ground by the ancient Atacameño people, this strange and wondrous place faces many challenges today, mainly from desertification and mining practices. Book jacket., This fascinating book describes the geological makeup and history of the Atacama Desert in Chile. One of the driest areas of the worldsome parts never receive any rainthe desert's climate can be cold, sometimes producing snow and fog. Readers will be fascinated to learn that the Atacama's soil is so similar to soil samples from Mars that NASA goes to this desert to test its exploration instruments. NASA has also set up its Earth-Mars Cave Detection Program in the Atacama, too. Special sections also describe the desert's natural resources and unique problems facing this region, as well as the people, plants, and animals that inhabit this desert habitat., This fascinating book describes the geological makeup and history of the Atacama Desert in Chile. One of the driest areas of the world - some parts never receive any rain - the desert's climate can be cold, sometimes producing snow and fog. Readers will be fascinated to learn that the Atacama's soil is so similar to soil samples from Mars that NASA goes to this desert to test its exploration instruments. NASA has also set up its Earth-Mars Cave Detection Program in the Atacama, too. Special sections also describe the desert's natural resources and unique problems facing this region, as well as the people, plants, and animals that inhabit this desert habitat.