where are the atacama desert located on a map
Atacama Desert The Atacama Desert (Spanish: Desierto de Atacama) is a plateau in South America, covering a 1000-km (600-mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes mountains. It is the driest nonpolar desert in the world.[1][2][3][4] According to estimates, the Atacama Desert occupies 105,000 km2 (41,000 sq mi),[5] or 128,000 km2 (49,000 sq mi) if the barren lower slopes of the Andes are included.[6] Most of the desert is composed of stony terrain, salt lakes (salares), sand, and felsic lava that flows towards the Andes.
Thar Desert The Thar Desert extends between the Aravalli Hills in the north-east,[2] the Great Rann of Kutch along the coast and the alluvial plains of the Indus River in the west and north-west. Most of the desert is covered by huge shifting sand dunes that receive sediments from the alluvial plains and the coast. The sand is highly mobile due to strong winds occurring before the onset of the monsoon. The Luni River is the only river integrated into the desert.[5] Rainfall is limited to 100–500 mm (3.9–19.7 in) per year, mostly falling from July to September.[2]