Yes. The Gobi Desert is much larger than the Atacama. The Gobi covers about 1,295,000 km², while the Atacama covers about 105,000 km². The Gobi is roughly 12.3 times the size of the Atacama — large enough to fit twelve Atacamas inside its borders, with room left over for Cyprus. But the Atacama has its own distinction: it's the driest place on Earth.
The Short Answer
The Gobi Desert in Mongolia and northern China is the 5th-largest desert in the world (after Antarctica, the Arctic, the Sahara, and the Arabian Desert). The Atacama Desert in northern Chile is the 23rd-largest. The Gobi is in a completely different size category — it's a continental-scale desert covering about 0.86% of all land on Earth. The Atacama is much smaller but more famous for being absurdly arid.
To put scale in perspective: the Gobi alone is larger than countries like Mongolia (its main host country, 1.56 million km²), Iran, or Peru. The Atacama is closer in size to Iceland (103,000 km²) or Hungary (93,000 km²).
The Real Numbers
- Gobi Desert area: ~1,295,000 km² (500,000 sq mi)
- Atacama Desert area: ~105,000 km² (40,540 sq mi)
- Difference: 1,190,000 km² — about the size of South Africa or Bolivia
- Ratio: Gobi is about 12.3× the size of the Atacama
The Gobi ranks 5th by area among world deserts. The Atacama ranks much lower (23rd or so), but for sheer aridity it's in a class of its own.
The Gobi Desert
The Gobi stretches across southern Mongolia and northern China (Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Xinjiang). It's about 1,600 km east-to-west and 800 km north-to-south at its widest. The desert sits between the Altai and Tien Shan Mountains to the north/west and the Hangayn Mountains to the north and the Pacific to the east.
The Gobi is a "cold winter desert" — temperatures range from -40°C in winter to +45°C in summer. It receives 100-200 mm of precipitation annually, mostly as snow. The desert is mostly rocky steppe rather than sand dunes — only about 5% of the Gobi is true sandy desert. The remainder is gravel plains, salt pans, and rocky terrain.
Historically, the Gobi was a major obstacle and route for the Silk Road. Caravans would cross the desert's southern edge to trade between China and Central Asia. The Gobi is also famous for its dinosaur fossils — the first complete dinosaur eggs were discovered here in 1923, and Roy Chapman Andrews' expeditions in the 1920s revealed many of the now-famous Mongolian dinosaurs (Velociraptor, Protoceratops, Oviraptor).
The Atacama Desert
The Atacama runs along the western coast of northern Chile, between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean. It's about 1,000 km long and 100 km wide. The desert lies between approximately 18°S and 27°S latitude.
The Atacama is the driest non-polar desert on Earth. Some weather stations have never recorded rainfall in over 400 years of observation. The desert's average rainfall is less than 1 mm per year in some parts — essentially zero. The aridity is caused by a combination of factors: the Andes block humid air from the east, the cold Humboldt Current creates a temperature inversion that prevents rainfall from the Pacific, and the latitude means it's outside the major precipitation zones.
Despite the extreme aridity, the Atacama has been home to humans for thousands of years. The Chinchorro people created some of the world's oldest known mummies here (preserved since 5000 BCE — older than Egyptian mummies). Today the Atacama is famous for astronomy — the dry, clear air makes it ideal for observatories. The ALMA telescope, VLT, and many other major facilities are located here.
Climate Comparison
Gobi
- Annual precipitation: 100-200 mm
- Summer high: 45°C
- Winter low: -40°C
- Wind: Sandstorms are common in spring (the famous Gobi dust storms can reach Beijing)
- Snow: Yes, winter brings snow
Atacama
- Annual precipitation: <15 mm (much of it <1 mm)
- Summer high: 27°C
- Winter low: 0°C
- Wind: Persistent coastal winds; "Camanchaca" fog from the Pacific provides some moisture
- Snow: Rare
The Gobi gets ~100× more precipitation than the driest parts of the Atacama. But the Gobi's temperature swings are much more extreme — winters are brutally cold, while the Atacama's temperate Pacific climate keeps temperatures relatively mild despite the aridity.
Wildlife
The Gobi supports surprising wildlife despite its harsh conditions. Native species include the wild Bactrian camel (the only true wild camel left), the saiga antelope, the Gobi bear (about 30 left, one of the rarest bears in the world), the snow leopard (in mountain areas), the Asiatic wild ass, and the Mongolian gazelle. The Gobi also has many burrowing rodents (jerboas, ground squirrels) and rich insect life.
The Atacama is so dry that wildlife is sparse but specialized. Species include the Andean fox, the vicuña (a wild relative of llamas), the viscacha (a chinchilla relative), the Andean flamingo (in the salt lakes), and various lizards. Many species are endemic to the Atacama's unique conditions. The Pacific coast adjacent to the Atacama hosts a rich marine ecosystem fed by the Humboldt Current's upwelling.
Economic and Cultural Significance
The Gobi crosses two countries (Mongolia and China). Mongolia's economy depends heavily on mining in the Gobi — gold, copper, coal, and rare earths are extracted from massive operations like the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine. The Chinese side of the Gobi is also rich in coal and natural gas. Sand from the Gobi is a major source of dust storms affecting Beijing and the rest of East Asia.
The Atacama is one of the world's most important copper-producing regions. About 28% of the world's copper comes from Chile, and much of it is mined in the Atacama. The Chuquicamata and Escondida mines are among the largest copper mines in the world. The Atacama is also a major source of nitrates, lithium (essential for batteries), and other minerals.
Tourism
The Gobi attracts adventure tourists, particularly to the Mongolian side. Popular activities include camel trekking through the Yolyn Am ice canyon, exploring the Flaming Cliffs (where dinosaur eggs were discovered), and visiting the Gobi-Gurvan Saikhan National Park. The Mongolian Gobi has about 800-1,000 hectares of singing sand dunes at Khongoryn Els.
The Atacama attracts astronomers and "Mars analog" researchers due to its dry, clear, high-altitude conditions. Tourist destinations include San Pedro de Atacama (the main tourist town), Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley), the El Tatio geysers, the Salar de Atacama salt flat, and the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) — one of the world's most advanced radio observatories. The Atacama receives about 1.5 million tourists annually.
Key Facts
- The Gobi is about 12.3× the size of the Atacama.
- The Gobi is the 5th-largest desert in the world.
- The Atacama is the driest non-polar desert in the world.
- The Gobi has temperature swings of up to 85°C between seasons.
- The Atacama is home to some of the world's most important observatories.
Fun Facts
- The Atacama's soil is so similar to Mars that NASA tests Mars rovers and habitats there.
- The Gobi is expanding southward at about 3,600 km² per year due to desertification — threatening Chinese agriculture and creating sandstorms.
- Some parts of the Atacama have rainfall measured in millimeters per decade — about a thousand times less than London receives in a single rainstorm.
- The Gobi was crossed by Marco Polo on his way to China in the 13th century.
- The Atacama hosts the world's largest single-aperture radio telescope (FAST, in China) — wait that's actually in China. The Atacama has ALMA, the largest array of radio telescopes.
Future and Climate Change
Both deserts face climate change pressures, but in different directions. The Gobi is expanding southward at roughly 3,600 km² per year due to a combination of overgrazing, deforestation, and drying climate trends — China has launched massive afforestation programs (the "Green Wall") to try to halt this. Sandstorms originating in the Gobi affect air quality across northeast Asia, sometimes reaching Korea and Japan.
The Atacama has shown surprising shifts too. While historically one of the driest places on Earth, the desert has experienced unusual rainfall events more frequently in recent years — possibly linked to changing Pacific weather patterns. Cycles of heavy rain ("desert blooms") in 2015, 2017, and 2022 transformed parts of the Atacama into temporary fields of flowers. Long-term forecasts suggest the Atacama may become slightly wetter on the margins while its core ultra-arid zone remains essentially rainless.
The Bottom Line
The Gobi is much bigger than the Atacama — about 12.3× larger. The Gobi is one of the world's great deserts and a key feature of Central Asian geography. The Atacama is much smaller but unique for being the driest non-polar place on Earth and a key region for astronomical observation. Both deserts shape the geography and economies of their respective regions in profound ways.
If you measure by size, the Gobi wins easily. If you measure by aridity, scientific importance, or astronomical value, the Atacama is one of the most extraordinary places on Earth despite its smaller footprint.