Chile Geography

Chile Geography:

Chile is situated on the southwest coast of South America and extends in a long ribbon between the Pacific and the Andes mountains. Chile has a width of only 175 km and a total land area of 742,812 sq km. Imagine living in a country that is so long but not exceedingly wide. Chile includes six dependencies or territories that are not fully independent. These territories include Easter Island, a volcanic island, the Diego Ramírez Islands, the Juan Fernández Islands, Sala y Gomez Island, San Ambrosio Island, and San Félix Island. Interestingly, Chile also claims the section of Antarctica and shares its international border with three countries including Bolivia, Argentina, and Peru. Chile's capital is Santiago, with a population of more than 6.5 million people. Chile is divided into three regions down and into six regions across. The three regions down the country of Chile are: the Andean Cordillera on the east, The low coastal mountains on the west, and the central valley in between. The highest peak within Chile is Nevado Ojos del Salado, at 6,880 m and the coastal range is 300 to 2,100 m in height. Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego is the largest island in Chile but is remarkably slightly smaller than Greenland. Chile lies in an area that frequently suffers from earthquakes, tidal waves, volcanic eruptions, floods, avalanches, landslides, and violent storms due to its location along the Pacific Ring of Fire which is an area with lots of earthquakes and volcanic activity. Surprisingly more than 130 major earthquakes have occurred in Chile since 1575. The north of Chile is one of the driest regions of the world, the middle has wet winters and long, dry summers and the south of Chile has heavy winds and cyclones. Overall Chile has many different regions and an interesting geographical layout.