CactiGuide.com

Hey, I knew you'd have some links! I didn't read them in detail, but didn't see what the fog would equate to in terms of inches of rain.

Not had a real look at them myself Daiv, but found this quote elsewhere:-

"Perhaps nowhere in the world can the importance of fog in maintaining coastal forests be seen better than in Parque Nacional Fray Jorge, Chile. This park exists in a coastal desert where rainfall is about 4 inches (about 100 mm) per year, and when one enters the park, you see the dry scrub and cactus that you would expect in such a desert climate. Traveling into the coastal hills, an amazing transformation occurs: dense forest appears - forests similar to those you would see much farther to the south where rainfall exceeds 40 inches (about 1,000 mm) per year."

They are even hanging nets as fog catchers to provide irrigation to crops lower down below the fog level:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8TBdrzemiM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The mist climate also extends into Southern Peru where it is called the Garúa.

That video is wild. So they are catching the fog to irrigate Aloes??? Why would you want Aloes when you have all of those wonderful Eulychnias and other cacti? Is it the "always want what you can't have" type thing?

No it is commercial cultivation as a crop Daiv since Aloes are used in medicines and many other products, unlike most cacti:-

The link will not paste in so Google "Commercial Cultivation of Aloe".

Aloe's are cultivated as a crop in many countries having an ideal climate for their growth.

btw we get wildflowers like that here in the Sonoran desert, just happens more often. cool pictures tho.