THE ATACAMA DESERT EXPEDITION
Whilst attending the International Botanical Conference in Schenzen in 2017, Erika Edwards, Lillian Hancock and I learned that it had rained in parts of the Atacama Desert in northern Chile.
An infrequent desert plant booming event was predicted for the coming months. We decided to be there!
There were scientific reasons. Klaus Winter and I suspected that at least some of the desert bloomers were CAM plants. Erika and Lilly were studying the evolutionary ecology of several of the plant groups, particularly Cistanthe.
The first manuscript from the trip can be found here.
We spent eight days in Chile, travelling from Santiago in Region Metropolitiana province, to near Taltal in Antofagasta province, and return. The maps below show our daily progress. The green pins indicate sites where plants were sampled or places where many of the photos shown in this web-site were taken.
- Day 1 – 3rd October, 2017
- Santiago International Airport to La Serena (Hostal el Punto)
- ca. 480 km mainly by the coast
- Day 1 slideshow is below
- Day 2 – 4th October, 2017
- La Serena to Playa Blanca, Parque Nacional Llanos de Challe (-28.186379oS, -71.159177oW)
- ca. 290 km
- Day 2 slideshow is below
The infamous Mesembryanthemum crystallinum 
Nolana 
Nolana, Playa Blanca 
We followed the coastal plain 
Agriculture in the valleys… 
CAM alongside 
Playa Blanca, a coastal Inselburg 
Ranger station, Playa Blanca 
Campsite, Playa Blanca 
Campsite, Playa Blanca 
Campsite, Playa Blanca 
Nolana, Playa Blanca 
Playa Blanca Park sign 
Sunset, Playa Blanca 
Dawn, Playa Blanca 
That first coffee… 
Morning, Playa Blanca 
Morning, Playa Blanca 
Protector from the ocean 
Beach morning, Playa Blanca 
Beach kelp, Playa Blanca
- Day 3 – 5th October, 2017. I think we spent a second night at Playa Blanca
- Day 3 slideshow is below
Copiapoa sp 
Cistanthe with a beach view 
Trig site 
Desert by the sea 
A wonder of riches! 
In the hills behind the plain 
Splashes of Cistanthe colour 
Leontochir ovallei (lion claw) 
Leontochir ovallei (lion claw) 
Good spot for a snack 
Chilly botanists in Chile 
Amazing number of flowers! 
Signs make botanizing simple… 
Scenery to kill for… 
An iris (??) 
The ‘pom-pom’ Cistathe 
Cistanthe (amaranthioides??) 
Cistanthe (amaranthioides??) 
Cistanthe with white flower 
Cistanthe with white flower & Oxalis 
One species – yellow and white flowers 
Cistanthe with yellow flower 
Yellow-flowered Leontochir ovallei (lion claw) 
One species – yellow and white flowers 
- Day 4 – 6th October, 2017
- Playa Blanca to Bahia Inglesa
- Hotel Restaurant Coral de Bahia Inglesa (-27.10436oS, -70.855057oW)
- ca. 160 km
- Day 4 slideshow is below
- Day 5 – 7th October, 2017; Bahia Inglesa to Pan de Azucar (ca. 125 km)
- Day 6 – 8th October, 2017; Pan de Azucar
- camping ground, lat. -26.151426oS, long. -70.666911oW
- slideshow of days 5 and 6 is below
It gets drier as you go further north 
…but there are still plants 
Looks like it rained here too 
Nolana and desert bee 
Taking advantage of the fog 
Not sure what this is 
Great shapes! 
CAM? Halophyte?…or both 
Pretty, delicate and tough 
Getting close to - Pan de Azucar
Campsite, - Pan de Azucar
- Isla Pan de Azucar
Beach at campsite 
Inland from campsite 
Travel big distance to see small things 
After that last moisture! 
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA 
Not tourists…botanists! 
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA 
Seem to appreciate disturbance 
The proverbial lunar landscape 
It’s cool and moist in them thar crevices 
No oasis here… 
A study of donkey poo (Copeopoa) 
Follow the water 
Life in a small hollow 
A beautiful plant 
Open for business 
A contrast of worlds
- Day 7 – 9th October, 2017
- Pan de Azacur to La Serena
- Hostal el Punto
- ca. 520 km
- Day 7 slideshow is below
- Day 8 – 10th October, 2017
- La Serena to Santiago, where we stayed at Hostal La Casa Roja, lat. -33.442199oS long. -70.665819oW
- ca. 480 km
- Day 8 slideshow is below
- Day 9 we visited the herbarium. I then flew home via Auckland and Brisbane.
Joe Holtum's Science Site 