ALMA construction site is located in the Atacama Region, in a very dry climate with annual rainfall below 100 mm. Although hardly any plants are found around the ALMA Array Operations Site (AOS) at 5000 m asl, we can find, at altitudes lower than 4000 m, short-height alpine plants adapted to the dry environment of the region. Since summer has come to the southern hemisphere, small alpine flowers are blooming here and there. The construction of ALMA is underway with attention to wild animals such as donkeys and vicunas as well as to native plants such as cactuses and alpine flowers.
[Photographed by Teruomi Tsuno (NAOJ)]