Atacama Desert Atacama Desert The Atacama Desert () is a desert plateau in South America covering a 1000-km (600-mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes mountains. The Atacama desert is one of the driest places in the world (the driest being the McMurdo Dry Valleys ) , as well as the only true desert to receive less precipitation than the polar deserts. According to estimates, the Atacama Desert occupies , or if the barren lower slopes of the Andes are included. Most of the desert is composed of stony terrain, salt lakes ("salares"), sand, and felsic lava
Sport in Chile enduro as well as cross-country rally, including the World Rally Championship. Another World Champion is Francisco "Chaleco" López in the 450 cc category, somewhat surprising when taken into account the fact that the team did it with a Honda and not a KTM, the number one motorcycle used in rally. Chilean rodeo is the national sport in Chile, practiced in the more rural areas of the country, and is the second most popular sport in Chile, after football. Chilean rodeo has been practiced in rural areas in central and southern regions of Chile for more than 400 years, but only