|
|
Geography of Chile
Home » Chile » Chile Overview and History » Geography of ChileIn terms of geography, Chile is truly fascinating. Situated south of Peru and west of Bolivia and Argentina, the country consists of a long, extremely thin line of land. The country extends over 2,700 miles along the southwestern coast of South America. This is comparable to a distance from San Francisco to New York. However, its width is never longer than 150 miles, which makes Chile more than eighteen times longer than its widest area.
The Andes mountains, a massive mountain range that possesses over fifty active volcanic peaks, is a noticeable factor in the extraordinary slenderness of the country. These towering ranges cover one-third of Chile. Another significant factor is the Pacific Ocean, which borders the country on the west. The geography of Chile does not simply consist of the steep slopes of the Andean peaks. The entire length of Chile is marked by a narrow depression between the mountains and the ocean.
The north is famous for its Atacama Desert, one of the most forbidding expanses on earth. The land rises here and becomes extremely arid. It is, in fact, the driest place on earth. The south is the complete opposite of the north: the land falls away, and the area between the ocean and mountains disappears gradually into the mysterious archipelagic maze that ends in Chile’s most famous region: Patagonia.
At the southern tip of the country’s mainland is Punta Arenas, the southernmost city in the world. Chile’s southern limit is distinguished by Cape Horn, a 1,390-foot hazardous promontory bounded by nearly continuously storm-tossed seas and is only passable through the foggy tranquility of the Strait of Magellan. The Strait of Magellan and Tierra del Fuego are divided between Chile and Argentina.
The center of the country provides even more contrast with its long and unrestrained river valley, a five hundred mile strip dominated in the north by vineyards and great farms and in the south by primitive forests and enchanting lakes. The capital of Chile, Santiago, secures the northern and more flourishing fragment of the central valley.
Chile also consists of two prominent Pacific possessions, the well-known Easter Island and the Juan Fernandez Islands, both of which are recognized as national parks. Easter Island is located 2000 miles from the Chilean coast, while the Juan Fernandez Islands are found about 400 miles west of the mainland. In addition, Chile maintains sovereignty over 482,628 square miles of Antarctic territory.
Related Chile Overview and History Articles