The place that comes closest to your description is the Atacama Desert in Chile. I did some checking on this, this region averages 1-3 mm of rain annually. There are weather stations out there that have never gotten rain. It has been compared to the surface of Mars.
A check of Google Earth shows Iquique to be a town to the north of the Atacama proper. Can't imagine too wild a weather difference between them. At least life seems to be present there.