in SOUTH AMERICA~ The Atacama & The Patagonian Areas:

Atacama ~ 300,000 sq km (13,300 sq miles)

Patagonian~ 500,000 sq km (19,300 sq miles)

Records:-- the Atacama is the driest desert in the world, between the years 1570 to 1971, there were NO RAINFALL RECORDED! Lying in Peru and Chile, is the Atacama desert which occupies a long, narrow section of the west coast of South America. Yes, it is also a hot desert, but it has also the most bearable climate too. The average hot-season temperatures rarely go over 20 degrees Celcius. But unfortunately, much of the desert experiences drought for many years and this makes the place very dry. In fact, this place is a mineral-rich area geologically. The land here contains sodium nitrate which contains nitrogen and oxygen, this kind of chemical compound can fertilize the land and help plants to grow healthily. Although it is so rich in the Atacama, vegetation is extremely sparse, why is that? The plants here are mainly deep-rooting desert grasses and scrubs, getting all the nutrients underground. Even cacti are not popular here, instead mesquite trees which have really long roots are usually seen. Like other deserts, there are arid coastal plateaus and sections of rocks on the cliffs. There are also mountain ranges with low heights, which are sometimes located near to the sea. Then futher to the south is the Patagonian Desert. Interestingly, it is in fact classified as the 'cold ' desert, even during the warmest times of the Patagonian, it's maximum temperature is just over 12 degrees Celcius! Further on to the colder months, the temperature can decrease to sub-zero degrees, or even accompanied by icy winds and snowfalls!