There is no real soil in the Atacama, there is only sand, pebbles and rocks. The "soil" is totally devoid of any organic matter.
In most areas of the Atacama there is not enough moisture in the soil to support any microbial life forms. When NASA was testing their Mars Rovers in the Atacama their instruments could not detect any life, bacteria or otherwise, in the soil of the desert.
The Atacama Desert of South America is a cool coastal desert.
In the actual arid Atacama there are virtually no living microbes in the soil. It is completely devoid of life. The only decomposers are chemicals in the soil.
The large desert in northern Chile is the Atacama Desert. The Atacama is the driest non-polar desert in the world.
Yes it is located in the Atacama Desert.
The Atacama Desert is a cool, exceedingly dry desert.
The Atacama Desert is located in northern Chile, southern Peru and small parts of Bolivia and Argentina.
The Atacama is a cold coastal desert.
The Atacama is a barren landscape not unlike the surface of Mars. It is made up of hills and flat lands whose surface is covered by sand, pebbles and rocks. Some areas have old volcanic lava flows and some areas have dry salt lake beds. There is some volcanic activity in parts which have geysers and hot mineral springs. There is almost no vegetation present except in some isolated areas. For some photos of the Atacama, click here.
Copper mining in northern Chile is the major industry of the Atacama Desert.
The Atacama Desert.the atacama desert
No current passes through the Atacama Desert but the Humbolt, or Peruvian Current, passes just off shore and has a great influence on the climate of the Atacama.