Chile's Atacama Desert, (Desierto de Atacama) is the driest non-polar desert on Earth, which stretches across approximately 600-mile tract of land between the coastal Cordillera de la Costa mountain range and the Andes Mountains in Northern Chile.
The position between the mountain ranges which span 5000 to 16,000 feet prevent precipitation from reaching the Atacama region which creates a rain shadow. On average, the Atacama region receives less than one millimeter of rainfall per year.
