Photo of the Month

Atacama Desert, Chile; By Allison Davies

Allison Davies Atacama

The driest desert in the world meets the ocean.

By © Allison Davies

This photograph was taken in April 2006 while exploring the Atacama desert, the driest desert in the world.

This coastal area is just south of Iquique, a beautiful city in the Tarapaca Region. The Atacama has a very complicated and rich history. Chile annexed parts after the War of the Pacific from Peru and Bolivia. In areas along and around the Pan-American Highway are abandoned nitrate mining towns as well as active copper mines.

The skies in this desert are the clearest and darkest in the world as well. Look up at night and you are truly a spec inside the Milky Way.

I alway use the Fuji 6×9 camera with a fixed 65mm lens.