The Ruta Del Desierto Atacama passes through remote landscapes in the north
of Chile. Through small villages and rocky coasts to salt lakes, volcanoes
and geysers. It is a journey as though to the end of the world.
We begin our journey in the desert town of Calama which means, Yellow Land,
but it also contains many green spots. The reason why the first men settled with
their families in this hostile area was due to the opening of a copper mine in
November 1911. The mining company had fine residential areas built, along
with parks and recreation areas, yet during the day it is windy, dusty and very
hot in the streets that are lined with simple, low-built houses.
Chuquicamata is the biggest open cast copper pit in the world. The pride
of the entire country, it is a huge hole in the ground. On numerous
terraces and at an altitude of about three thousand metres, day and night rock
is blasted out of the ground.
The Atacama Desert contains salt water lakes, desert mountain areas and
endless fields of sand dunes and stone. It extends between the Pacific
Ocean and the Cordilleras, an area of stone and sand that is perforated only by
various frequently dried out salt lakes.
The Valle De La Luna is particularly impressive. In primeval times it
was a lake whose bed was elevated and developed due to tectonic
activity. Erosion, strong winds, extreme sunshine and changes in
temperature formed this rocky, almost completely lifeless, landscape.
The Ruta Del Desierto Atacama is a journey through the natural world!