Driest Places on Earth
The Atacama and Sonoran desert regions are different and alike in many ways. Atacama region located in Chili and the Sonoran region located in southwestern part of the US ranging all the way down the western region of Sonora, Mexico. These two regions are homes to many different animal species and fauna across the world. In my following research I have compared and contrasted the two regions from location, biodiversity features, climate and current status today. All of the fallowing aspects of each ecosystem will help educate the difference and similarities between the two.
The Atacama Desert is a small region compared to the Sonoran Desert. It is a narrow strip of desert along the northwest coast of Chile that reaches a maximum width of 180km and stretches for 1600km. The Sonoran Desert covers a vast surface area of 311,000km; the sub regions consist of the Yuma and Colorado Desert are not included. Both regions share the location of coastal and mountainous geographical areas. These coastal regions play a vital role in climate changes during seasonal storms. The location of the Atacama Desert is unique in itself, because it has been said it is the driest place on earth. Arica, an area in Chile, which receives only 0.6mm of rainfall a year is one of the regions where man, has recorded rainfall. In many areas rainfall has never been recorded. Consequently, an extremely arid, almost barren, landscape predominates cause it to be defined as a desert. Another reason why we classify Atacama a desert is rainshadow. Topography influences patterns of moisture for minimal species to live in this barren habitat. Lomas(small hills) are a source for many birds to seasonally visit. The moisture that is created from fog zones that are developed from coastal hillsides is area that house short-lived perennial and woody scrub vegetation. This type of fauna affects its surroundings due to the topic of Mutualism. Mutualism exists here because certain...