Round 10: Tossup 2

This desert shares its name with a nearby plateau home to green lagoons with mound-forming bacteria communities called stromatolites, which scientists have compared to early life on Earth. This desert is home to an ancient delta dubbed “Red Stone” by NASA, (-5[1])who found naturally occurring perchlorates also found on Mars. (10[1])Pockets of vegetation called lomas in this desert south of the Chala are supplied by dense rolling fogs. The Arica (“ah-REE-ka”) Bend (-5[1])and the city (-5[1])of Arica (10[1])are located at the northern part (10[1])of this desert. Clear skies about a (10[1])mountain in this desert, the Cerro Paranal, led it to become the location of (10[1])the Very Large Telescope. (10[2]-5[1])Only a few valleys in Antarctica are drier than this copper-rich desert (10[1])due (10[1])its location between a country’s Coast Range and the Andes. For 10 points, name this desert in northern Chile. (10[1])■END■ (10[2])

Back to tossups

Buzzes

Summary