Flora at the ALMA site

This arid area on the slope of the Andes range of the II Region of Chile surprisingly shows a considerable richness in terms of flora and fauna. In the picture, an herbaceous species known as “Coirón” and other vegetation typical of the desert scrub, that stretches up to 4000 m altitude. The Coirón survives to higher altitudes, reaching 4800 m. Above this elevation is the high altitude desert, where only a few tiny plants adapted to those extreme conditions can survive. ALMA, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, is the largest astronomical project in existence. The ALMA Project is strongly committed to the protection of the historical and environmental heritage of this unique region.