At·a·ca·ma Desert

(ăt′ə-kăm′ə, ä′tä-kä′mä)

An arid region of northwest Chile. One of the driest areas in the world, it has yielded great nitrate and copper wealth.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Atacama Desert

(Spanish ataˈkama)

(Placename) a desert region along the W coast of South America, mainly in N Chile: a major source of nitrates. Area: about 80 000 sq km (31 000 sq miles)

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

A′ta•ca′ma Des′ert

(ˈæt əˈkæm ə, ˌæt-, ˈɑ təˈkɑ mə, ˌɑ tə-)
n.

an arid region in N Chile: nitrate deposits. ab. 70,000 sq. mi. (181,300 sq. km).

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

Atacama Desert - a desert in northern Chile rich in nitrate and copper deposits

Chile, Republic of Chile - a republic in southern South America on the western slopes of the Andes on the south Pacific coast

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References in periodicals archive

25 Science, the researchers describe ancient camp sites situated next to now-dry lakebeds in the Atacama Desert and nearby occupation sites at lower elevations.

Early Americans followed the water. (Ancient Lure of the Lakes)

The first of the three habitats, eMARS, an acronym for earth Mars Atacama Research Station, will be situated in the Atacama Desert at an elevation at or above 2,400 meters.

eMARS: earth Mars Atacama Research Station

NIGHT I would squeeze in some sandboarding in the sand dunes of Chile's Atacama Desert before sunset, and then enjoy watching the Milky Way move across the vast sky.

My PERFECT day; Travel

Synopsis: Adrian Rohnfelder cycles high above the steaming rainforests in the Kilimanjaro massif, crosses the seething heat of the Atacama Desert in Chile, and climbs the summit of Orizaba under dramatic circumstances.

Volcanic 7 Summits

A NASA rover deployed to Chileas Atacama desert has discovered microbes in one of the most Mars-like environments on Earth.

NASA is Getting Closer to Discover Life on Mars

A pair of vicunas appear to hug as they smash into one another in a violent turf war in the remote Atacama Desert. The feisty animals, which are distant relatives of llamas, can be see scrapping and biting at one another as they engage in the heated duel.

Wild vicunas appear to hug as they crash into one another during fight for territory

BRITAIN'S fittest pensioner, who ran 18 marathons last year at the age of 73, is now planning to run across Chile's daunting Atacama Desert.

Superfit Bill, 73, ready for 155-mile desert marathon

"The Tarapaca Declaration" draws attention to the urgent need to change how human societies have been using water in the Atacama Desert, based on a historical trajectory spanning several millennia.

ACTA DE TARAPACA: "PUEBLO SIN AGUA, PUEBLO MUERTO"

Smit and colleagues first found the two galaxies in deep Spitzer Space Telescope images, then followed up using the Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA), a network of radio dishes high in the Atacama Desert in Chile.

Ordered Galaxies in Chaotic Early Universe

Led by Washington State University planetary scientist Dirk Schulze-Makuch, an international team studied the driest corner of South America's Atacama Desert, where decades pass without any rain.

Microbes in Driest Desert: Clues to Life On Mars