The Atacama Desert
During the evolution of the South American continent, the uplift of the Andes (~25 million years ago) created a natural wall that reached ~23,000 feet (7,000 mts). Since its origins, the Andes range (which determines the frontier of Chile with Argentina and Bolivia) has operated as a natural barrier for dispersal of wildlife and as an active geographic centre of diversification of unique species. But, at the same time, the Andes in combination with the Pacific Humboldt Current (an extremely cold ocean current running along the cost of Chile all the way from Antarctica) have created the Atacama Desert – the most arid environment on Earth and one of the most extraordinary deserts in the world. This uniquely dry environment has, over millions of years, promoted the evolution of whole endemic communities where ecological interactions are equally unique.
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The Llanos de Challe National Park
The National Park is located in the Region of Atacama, Huasco county, and was created under the legal law for protection of National Wildlife in 1994. The National Park aims to protect the entire biodiversity of wildlife naturally inhabiting the area. Over the years, the Park has developed a number of programmes of research and monitoring of particularly threatened species, including a number of vertebrates, such as the Guanaco, the Chilla and Culpeo foxes and the only truly desert species of Amphibian, Rhinella atacamensis. The diversity of plants is also a primary concern for the park given that out of the 220 species recorded within the area, 206 of them are native to Chile. In addition, two highly popular plant species are currently facing severe risks of extinction, the lion’s claw (Leontochir ovallei) and the cactus species ‘napina’ (Eriosyce napina). At present, the National Park is making major efforts to revert the conservation status of these plants and of other species experiencing population declines caused by human activities. For example, the Park is currently developing a project aimed to collect the seeds of the lion’s claw flower in order to create a controlled bank of individuals to be re-introduced in the future.
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Excellent film (but in Spanish!) - Meet Isla Troncoso, the Head of the National Park, and have a comprehensive visual overview of this area of Atacama.
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The Llanos de Challe National Park offers a unique and comprehensive perspective of the environmental components and biodiversity of Atacama, given its privileged location in an area that encompasses a convergence of desert ecosystems – including extreme desert, coast and the areas where the phenomenon of the ‘flowering desert’ ('desierto florido' in Spanish) takes place. The flowering desert is a prominent and explosive proliferation of hundreds of flower species that cover the surface of the desert after brief rains, which only happen every couple of years. During your visit, you may or may not see this phenomenon.
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The biodiversity in Llanos de Challe is rich and unique. During our inspection trip conducted in November 2015, a number of animal species were observed by our field team. We spotted species such as desert foxes, South American camels (e.g., the ‘guanaco’), several different species of lizards (including a number of Liolaemus species, which are scientifically demonstrated to be the most awesome animals on Earth), a diversity of birds (finches, owls, vultures, pelicans, among many others), bats and different species of desert rodents. Species spotted in the sea by our team include blue whales, killer whales, sea lions and dolphins. A number of other species are permanent residents in the Park, such as another species of fox, the puma (the ‘American lion’), desert amphibians (which embody extreme cases of adaptation), and several bird and lizard species. Take a look at this extremely comprehensive (51 minutes though) documentary with one of the best overviews of the biodiversity and wildlife of Atacama.
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Excellent and comprehensive documentary about Atacama's wildlife. It is 51 minutes but really, take it as an extremely pleasant lecture that will introduce you to this unique environment.
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And why not, some weird stories too
Some big mysteries have emerged in Atacama, which include stories about weird animals, mysterious people, and of course, aliens. In fact, Chile hosts some of the major astronomical obervatories in the world, and given the clear skyes, they are all located in Atacama. This link between Atacama and outer space has inspired some funny stories about aliens. But, intriguingly, some actual findings have reinforced the stories....have a look at this video (and as you watch it, do not forget you guys are scientists, so, be critical!).
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