Eastern Pacific High Sea

West of the Chilean desert coast, the eastern Pacific stretches beyond the bays of Chañaral and Copiapó. The cold Humboldt Current flows north along the continent, and upwelling brings nutrients into sunlit surface waters. This marine abundance contrasts with the barren slopes and scarce rivers of the adjacent Atacama. Sailing ships traveling between Chile and Peru navigated these open waters past a coast marked by headlands and scattered anchorages.