The driest place on earth

Known as the driest place on earth - in some places rain has never been recorded and it's hard to believe that over 1 million people inhabit this bare landscape. Most residents live along the coast in towns like San Pedro where extinct volcanoes surround the village and inhabitants keeping them separated from the vast expanse of empty interior. Although the Atacama Desert is mostly a barren wasteland, there are still places of spectacular beauty: the Reserva Nacional Flamencos has the Chaxa Lagoon with its huge flamingo breeding colony for example. Because of the bone dry land and air, preserved artefacts from the Pre-Columbian, Incan, and Paleo-Indian cultures have been discovered.