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The tectonic shifts in Chile's ancient geology and new politics
The Atacama desert and the Andean mountains are brimming with natural history and cutting-edge contemporary science
(L to R) The supercontient Gondwana 420 million years ago; rare rainfall events cause the flowering in southern Atacama Desert [(L to R) Fama Clamosa/Creative Commons + Javier Rubilar/Creative Commons]

THE Andes rise high above the Atacama desert on the western coast of South America, higher in fact than a model based on basic plate tectonics would indicate. Their height is part of why the Atacama desert is so dry.

Unlike in Britain, where the west coast is wetter than the east, the prevailing winds from the oceans around southern South America come from the Atlantic, rather than the Pacific. These winds were called the “trade winds” by European nations who used them in their imperial and colonial expansions.

Just like on the island of Britain, but switching east for west, the prevailing winds pick up water over the ocean, and on hitting the mountains rise, cool and squeeze out their water load into rain clouds that keep the east coast of southern South America lush and fertile.

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