Join Dr. Jerry Dunifer, Emeritus Professor of Physics and Astronomy, for an interactive journey (Zoom video conference) to the Driest Place in the World—Chile and the Atacama Desert.

This journey will take us into South America to visit the country of Chile.  We’ll visit Santiago, the capital, and a few other cities while traveling north towards the Atacama Desert, the driest location on Earth, containing places where it hasn’t rained in a century.  Because of the good viewing conditions and high altitudes within and along the edges of the Atacama, there are a number of large astronomical observatories, some of which we’ll be visiting.  Also on this journey, we’ll travel up to the highest geyser field on Earth at an altitude of about 14,000 feet above sea level.  Another point of interest, will be a visit to the “Valley of the Moon”, a unique geological formation within the desert.  We’ll end the tour of Chile at an “Organic Vineyard” to sample some cheeses and wines.