The climate is warm, with extreme temperature changes between day and night. Although small, the amount of rain allows the existence of wetlands and groves in the low lands. Algarrobos and Chañarales are some of the plants found in this environment.
Wildlife includes animals, such as foxes, condors and quirquinchos (armadillos).
Since prehispanic days, the atacameño people have survived in one of the driest climates of the world, showing great adaptability.
For over ten thousand years, human populations have occupied this large area, living in small fortified villages close to the few existing rivers.

The Spanish chronicler Mariño Lobera describes the Atacameño people saying:
« Algarrobos and Chañarales are important in their daily meals. To produce a very pleasant drink, they grind the Algarrobo seeds. The lands are irrigated by many canals and they practice cultivation in terraces, as is Andean custom...»