This is an area of contrasting landscapes: the vastness of sand, rock and salt beds gradually dissolving into green valleys. It comprises the Chillan regions of Tarapaca and Antofagasta, including the main port cities of Arica, Iquique and Antofagasta.
The Atacama Desert, the world's driest desert, emerges here, abruptly from the sea, nourishing its scattered colonies of cacti with a thick fog called "camanchaca" which finally dissipates on the pampa. The "Tamarugo", a tree that makes good fodder, has managed to survive since time immemorial on this cracked arid soil.
In the middle of the desert and on the banks of the Loa River, lies the city of Calama, a travelller's oasis after the barren northern pampas. A distant 103 kms. (64 mls) from . Calama and at an altitude of 2.400 mts. (7.800 ft), this desert oasis is the center of the Atacamenan culture and the most interesting archaeological zone.
