Is there a major mountain range that goes through Chile?
Chile
The Chilean relief consists of the central depression, which crosses the country longitudinally, flanked by two mountain ranges that make up about 80% of the territory: the Andes mountains to the east-natural border with Bolivia and Argentina in the region of Atacama and the Coastal Range west-minor height from the Andes. Chile's highest peak is the Nevado Ojos del Salado, at 6891.3 m, which is also the highest volcano in the world. The highest point of the Coastal Range is Vicuña Mackenna, at 3114 meters, located in the Sierra Vicuña Mackenna, the south of Antofagasta. Among the coastal mountains and the Pacific is a series of coastal plains, of variable length, which allow the settlement of coastal towns and big ports. Some areas of the plains territories encompass territory east of the Andes, and the Patagonian steppes and Magellan, or are high plateaus surrounded by high mountain ranges, such as the Altiplano or Puna de Atacama.
Tricontinental Chile
Continental Chile corresponds to the strip of territory along the southwestern coast of South America and its adjacent islands. Almost the entire population lives in continental Chile, which extends from 17°30’ S, at the border with Peru and Bolivia, to the Diego Ramírez Islands at 56°30’ S. The maximum width of is at 52°21’ S, at the Strait of Magellan, whilst the minimum width is at 31°37’ S between Punta Amolanas and Paso de la Casa de Piedra.
Cerros de Quimán
Cerros de Quimán is a forest-covered mountain group between Riñihue Lake and Ranco Lake in Chile. The mountain group runs east-west from Cordillera Negra and Mocho-Choshuenco Volcano in the east and forms part of the border between Futrono and Los Lagos municipalities of Los Ríos Region.
Sierra de los Cuchumatanes
The Sierra de los Cuchumatanes is the highest non-volcanic mountain range in Central America. Its elevations range from to over , and it covers a total area of . With an area of situated above , it is also the most extensive highland region in Central America. The Sierra de los Cuchumatanes is located in western Guatemala in the departments of Huehuetenango and El Quiché. Its western and south-western borders are marked by the Seleguá River, which separates it from the Sierra Madre volcanic chain. Its southern border is defined by the Río Negro, which flows into the Chixoy River, which turns northwards and separates the Cuchumatanes from the mountains in the Alta Verapaz region. The highest peaks, which reach up to , are located in the department of Huehuetenango.
List of companies of Chile
Chile is a South American country occupying a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far south. Chilean territory includes the Pacific islands of Juan Fernández, Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas, and Easter Island in Oceania.
Central Chile
Central Chile is one of the five main geographical zones in which Chile is divided. The Chilean Central Valley lies between the Coastal range ("Cordillera de la Costa") and the Andes Mountains. To the north is the semi-desert region known as El Norte Chico, (the "little north"), which lies between 28° and 32° south latitude. To the south lies the cooler and wetter Valdivian temperate rain forests ecoregion, in Los Lagos Region; (the latter includes most of South America's temperate rain forests). The Central valley is a fertile region and the agricultural heartland of Chile.
Annamite Range
The Annamite Range or the Annamese Mountains (; ; ) is a mountain range of eastern Indochina. It extends approximately through Laos, Vietnam, and a small area in northeast Cambodia. The mountain range is also referred to variously as Annamese Range, Annamese Mountains, Annamese Cordillera, Annamite Mountains and Annamite Cordillera.
Cordillera Darwin
The Cordillera Darwin is an extensive mountain range mantled by an ice field that is located in Chile.
Chongon Colonche Range
The Chongon Colonche Range (Spanish "Cordillera Chongon Colonche") is a mountain range on the central pacific coast of Ecuador, located in the provinces of Guayas and Manabi. The range peaks at 800 metres above sea level and together with the Mache Chindul Range is the only major mountain range west of the Andes. Much of the range remains clad in indigenous tropical wet forest, although large areas have been cleared for agriculture. The remaining forest contains high levels of biodiversity and the entire region has been classified as an "Important Bird Area" by Birdlife International.
Hiking in Chile
The Sendero de Chile trail runs 18 km from the Serrano Conaf lodge up along the western side of Lake Pehoé, via Las Carretas campsite and Mirador Pehoe lookout, ending at the Pehoe Conaf lodge, and offers views of the Cordillera del Paine, Grey Glacier and Lake Pehoé. 
There are several other well-known hiking trails within Torres del Paine National Park, including the “W”, which leads in and out of the valleys on the south side of the Paine massif, and the “Full Circuit”, which continues on around the less-visited north side of the massif.
Fjord of the Mountains
Fjord of the Mountains, also known as "Channel of the Mountains" (Spanish Canal de las Montañas), is located to the west of Puerto Natales, Chile and inside the boundaries of the Alacalufes National Reserve. It stretches 66 km from north to south and is flanked by two mountain ranges, the Cordillera Sarmiento to the west and the Cordillera Riesco to the east.
Chile Rise
The Chile Rise or Chile Ridge is an oceanic ridge, a tectonic divergent plate boundary between the Nazca and Antarctic plates. Its eastern end is the Chile Triple Junction where the Chile Rise is being subducted below the South American Plate in the Peru–Chile Trench. It runs westward to a triple point south of the Juan Fernández Microplate where it intersects the East Pacific Rise.
Geography of Chile
About 80 percent of the land in Chile is made up of mountains of some form or other. Most Chileans live near or on these mountains. The majestically snowcapped Andes and their precordillera elevations provide an ever-present backdrop to much of the scenery, but there are other, albeit less formidable, mountains as well. Although they seemingly can appear anywhere, the non-Andean mountains usually form part of transverse and coastal ranges. The former, located most characteristically in the near north and the far north natural regions, extend with various shapes from the Andes to the ocean, creating valleys with an east-west direction. The latter are evident mainly in the center of the country and create what is commonly called the Central Valley (Valle Central) between them and the Andes. In the far south, the Central Valley runs into the ocean's waters. At this location, the higher elevations of the coastal range facing the Andes become a multiplicity of islands, forming an intricate labyrinth of channels and fjords that have been an enduring challenge to maritime navigators.
Áncash Region
This mountain range is composed by gigantic summits covered with snow, which are among the most beautiful of the world. The White mountain range is considered the highest tropical mountain range in the world. It borders the Callejón de Huaylas to the east. It has a length of 180 km.
Sierra Madre Occidental
The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest–southeast through Northwestern and Western Mexico, and along the Gulf of California. The Sierra Madre is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that form the western "backbone" of North America, Central America, South America and West Antarctica.
Hiking in Chile
The Río Clarillo National Reserve lies 45 km southeast of Santiago in the valley of the Clarillo River. The 10 km Sendero de Chile trail runs from the reserve’s El Maitén sector to the Corral de las Yeguas sector. Points of interest include a viewpoint overlooking the Clarillo valley and stands of native cacti, soap bark trees, peumo trees and Lithraea caustica trees. It is also possible to view culpeos and South American gray foxes.
Lomas
In Chile the Pan de Azúcar (26°09′S) and Llanos de Challe (28°10′) National Parks and the La Chimba National Reserve (23°32′S, 70°21′W) preserve lomas. The richest diversity of species of llomas flora in Chile, however, is near the village of Paposo (25°00′S). The fog oasis near Paposo occur at elevations of to with altitudes from to having the most abundant growth of vegetation. The Paposo area has been declared a Zone of Ecological Protection by the Government of Chile.
Coastal Cliff of northern Chile
The Coastal Cliff of northern Chile () stretches over a length of more than 1000 km along the Atacama Desert. It makes up a large part of the western boundary to the Chilean Coast Range in the regions of Tarapacá and Antofagasta, and Atacama. According to Roland Paskoff the modern cliff origined from a scarp retreat of a fault scarp, thus at present the cliff does not follow any fault.
List of highways in Chile
Chile has Highway coverage throughout the entire country with the exception of the southern Magallanes Region.
Chicauma
Chicauma is a mountain range in central Chile. This locale is noted for the impact of a large meteor noted in a report from 1916. The range is also termed Alto de Chicauma or Sierra de Chicauma. A portion of the Chicauma has been added to the La Campana National Park.
Paso de Jama
The Paso de Jama is a mountain pass through the Andes between Chile and Argentina, at an elevation of at the border. It is the northernmost road border crossing between the two countries. The pass is reached via Chile Route 27 and via National Route 52 (Argentina). The Chile Route 27 reaches an altitude of 100 km west of the border.
Chile
The arid Atacama Desert in northern Chile contains great mineral wealth, principally copper. The relatively small central area dominates in terms of population and agricultural resources, and is the cultural and political center from which Chile expanded in the late 19th century when it incorporated its northern and southern regions. Southern Chile is rich in forests and grazing lands, and features a string of volcanoes and lakes. The southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting peninsulas, and islands.
Wildlife of Chile
From the wildlife angle, Chile in Southern South America stretches in a north-south direction, called the spine of South America, has terrestrial borders with Argentina and Peru, and has long coast line of on the South Pacific Ocean. The Atacama Desert is the most arid desert in the world. The Ojos del Salado, a crater lake which is the world's highest lake (at ) is located here.
Hiking in Chile
Chile’s “Selva Valdiviana” (Valdivian temperate rainforest) covers the Andes south of the central Mediterranean zone and north of Patagonia and its Magellanic subpolar forests, centering on the Los Lagos and Los Ríos regions. The area includes several well-known lakes and volcanoes such as: Llanquihue Lake, Osorno Volcano, Todos los Santos Lake and Calbuco Volcano.
Wildlife of Chile
The country's flora is composed of "56 orders, 181 families, 837 genera, and about 4,295 species" with large numbers in terms of genera and species from the families Asteraceae, Poaceae, Fabaceae, and Solanaceae. The land is divided into latitudes sections which dictate the country's vegetation; the soil conditions of the lands and the climatic conditions are key factors in this respect. In the northern desert region (Atacama Desert, the driest place on Earth) which is the desert region of sand there is no precipitation at all but it still sustains not only vegetation but also fauna; the coastal fogs moving up sustain them. The desert vegetation consists of a spiny acacia tree, varieties of cacti as well as shrubs and spiny brambles. In the high plateau area of northern Chile, the common species of flora are llareta and grasses of ichu and tola varieties. The semiarid region of central Chile, cacti, espino and algarrobo hardwood, and "Adesmia" shrubs are the notable flora. In the humid and temperate region of central Chile, vegetation is defined by the term "matorral" which consists of thick growth of hardwoods, shrubs, cacti, and green grass; however the vegetation is thinning due to heavy anthropogenic pressure on land. South of the Biobío River, mixed deciduous forest and evergreen trees are the common vegetation types; the species reported are rauli or southern cedar, the roble beech, the "ulmo"(an evergreen shrub), and the evergreen laurel. The vegetation types in the western slopes of the Andes are formed of thick forests of monkey puzzle tree (Chile pine). The Lake District of Chile has dense rain forests of timber species. To the south of the lake, the dominant vegetation consists of Antarctic beech, the Chilean cedar, and the giant alerce (this tree in southern Chile is reported to be 3000 years old and is the "second largest living organism in the world"). In the Chilean Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego island, due to weather conditions only dwarf variety of southern beech and hard grasses are noted.
Geology of Chile
The Quaternary glaciations left visible marks in most parts of Chile, particularly Zona Sur and Zona Austral. These include ice fields, fjords, glacial lakes and u-shaped valleys. During the Santa María glaciation glaciers extended into the Pacific Ocean at 42° south, dividing the Chilean Coast Range and creating what is now Chacao Channel. Chiloé, part of the Chilean Coast Range, became an island. South of Chacao Channel, Chile's coast is split by fjords, islands and channels; these glaciers created moraines at the edges of the Patagonian lakes, changing their outlets to the Pacific and shifting the continental divide. The remnants of the Patagonian Ice Sheet which covered large parts of Chile and Argentina are the Northern and the Southern Patagonian Ice Fields.
Hiking in Chile
South of the Central Andes, the Alto Bío Bío area covers the Andean surroundings of the upper Bío Bío River, Chile’s second largest river, in the Bío Bío Region. The area is a center for the indigenous Pehuenche people and currently contains two Sendero de Chile trails, as well as other important parks such as Ñuble National Reserve.
Cordillera de Queule
Cordillera de Queule is a minor mountain range in the border of La Araucanía Region and Los Ríos Region, southern Chile. The forested hills of Cordillera de Queule makes up the northern boundary of Lingue Rivers drainage basin.
Geography of Chile
In the far north, the land generally rises vertically from the ocean, sometimes to elevations well over . The Cordillera Domeyko in the north runs along the coast parallel to the Andes. This topography generates coastal microclimates because the fog that frequently forms over the cold ocean waters, as well as any low clouds, is trapped by the high bluffs. This airborne moisture condenses in the spines and leaves of the vegetation, droplets that fall to the ground and irrigate the plants' roots. Beyond the coastal bluffs, there is an area of rolling hills that encompasses the driest desert land; this area ends to the east with the Andes towering over it. The edges of the desert in some sections have subterranean aquifers that have permitted the development of forests made up mainly of tamarugos, spiny trees native to the area that grow to a height of about twenty-five meters. Most of those forests were cut down to fuel the fires of the many foundries established since colonial times to exploit the abundant deposits of copper, silver, and nitrate found in the area. The result was the creation of even drier surface conditions.
Hiking in Chile
Hiking in Chile is characterized by a wide range of environments and climates for hikers, which largely results from Chile's unusual, ribbon-like shape, which is 4,300 kilometres (2,700 miles) long and on average 175 kilometres (109 miles) wide. These range from the world's driest desert, the Atacama, in the north, through a Mediterranean climate in the center, to the glaciers, fjords and lakes of Patagonia in the south.
Wildlife of Chile
The wildlife of Chile encompasses a diverse range of animals and plants, a condition is attributed to the country's slender and elongated shape, which spans a wide range of latitude, and also its altitude, ranging from the windswept coastline of the Pacific coast on the west to northern Andes to the sub-Antarctic, high Andes mountains in the east. There are many distinct ecosystems.
Geography of Chile
Although many lakes can be found in the Andean and coastal regions of central Chile, the south (Sur de Chile) is definitely the country's most lacustrine area. Southern Chile stretches from below the Bío-Bío River at about 37° south latitude to Chacao channel at about 42° south latitude. In this lake district of Chile, the valley between the Andes and the coastal range is closer to sea level, and the hundreds of rivers that descend from the Andes form lakes, some quite large, as they reach the lower elevations. They drain into the ocean through other rivers, some of which (principally the Calle-Calle River, which flows by the city of Valdivia) are the only ones in the whole country that are navigable for any stretch. The Central Valley's southernmost portion is submerged in the ocean and forms the Gulf of Ancud. Isla de Chiloé, with its rolling hills, is the last important elevation of the coastal range of mountains.
Chile Route 9
The Chilean highway Route 9 (9-CH) runs from the Brunswick Peninsula south of Punta Arenas north to Paso Baguales Oriental at the border with Argentina in Torres del Paine commune. Route 9-CH is the main highway of Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region, and to travel between Route 9-CH and Chilean highways north of Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region vehicles have to pass through Argentina.
Lower Himalayan Range
The Mahabharata Range ( mahābhārat shrinkhalā) – also called the Lesser Himalaya or the "Himachal"– is a major east-west mountain range with elevations 3,700 to 4,500 m (12,000 to 14,500 feet) along the crest, paralleling the much higher Great Himalaya range from the Indus River in Pakistan across northern India, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan but then the two ranges become increasingly difficult to differentiate east of Bhutan as the ranges approach the Brahmaputra River. The Mahabharat range also parallels the lower Shiwalik or Churia Range (Outer Himalaya) to the south.
Geography of Chile
Located on the west coast of South America, Chile has a total area of 756,102 sq km. There are four climates that separate Chile. One of these climates is the Dry climate. This is located the North above Santiago called Atacama Desert with the temperature of up to 90 °F. The Central part of Chile has a warmer climate that reaches up to 82.4 °F. The inner region of Chile has a snow climate. South of Chile there is a wet climate because of the Mediterranean Coastline this leading the Wet Season to range from May to August. Summer in Chile is December through February. Leading for the Winter to be June through August with low temperatures up to -2 °C.
Brazos Mountains
The range is mostly located in the privately held Tierra Amarilla Land Grant (the Carson National Forest is to the east and south). It is a distinctive part of the view from the west, including from Heron Lake. U.S. Route 64 crosses the southern end of the range at a 10,481 foot (3194 m) pass. Nearby are the photogenic Brazos Cliffs, headwaters of the Rio Brazos and part of the Rio Chama river system. These mountains overlook the Chama River, the largest tributary of the Rio Grande which lies to the east. In essence, these mountains are the southern extension of the South San Juan Range that lies in Colorado.
Norte Chico, Chile
Norte Chico is a highly mountainous district where distinct ranges or elongated spurs cross the country from the Andes to the coast, forming transverse valleys of great beauty and fertility. The most famous of these is the Elqui Valley. The deep transverse valleys provide broad areas for cattle raising and, most important, fruit growing, an activity that has developed greatly since the mid-1970s. Nearly all Chilean pisco is produced in the near north (Chilean laws defines the pisco as a drink produced in the Near North). The cultivation of the soil becomes possible, at first through irrigation and then with the aid of light periodical rains.
Chilean Central Valley
The Central Valley (), Intermediate Depression, or Longitudinal Valley is the depression between the Chilean Coastal Range and the Andes Mountains. The Chilean Central Valley extends from the border with Peru to Puerto Montt in southern Chile, with a notable interruption at Norte Chico (27°20'–33°00' S). South of Puerto Montt the valley has a continuation as a series of marine basins up to the isthmus of Ofqui. Some of Chile's most populous cities lie within the valley including Santiago, Temuco, Rancagua, Talca and Chillán.
Tapay District
The Chila mountain range traverses the district. One of the highest mountains of the district is Suriwiri. Other mountains are listed below:
Transhimalaya
The Transhimalaya (also spelled Trans-Himalaya) or "Gangdise – Nyenchen Tanglha range", is a 1600-kilometre-long mountain range in China, extending in a west–east direction parallel to the main Himalayan range. Located north of Yarlung Tsangpo river on the southern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, the Transhimalaya is composed of the Gangdise range to the west and the Nyenchen Tanglha range to the east.
Camino de los chilenos
Rastrillada de los chilenos or Camino de los chilenos (Spanish for road of the Chileans) were a group of routes in Patagonia used by Mapuches and related araucanized tribes to head cattle stolen during malones from Argentina to Chile across the Andes. Camino de los chilenos ran a length of about 1000 km from the Buenos Aires Province to the mountain passes of Neuquén Province. The cattle were traded in Chile for weapons and alcoholic beverages. This trade has been pointed out as the single most important cause of the war that affected the southern provinces of Argentina during large parts of the 19th century. Therefore, the demand for cattle by Chilean merchants was fueling the conflict in Argentina. To counter the cattle raids a trench called Zanja de Alsina was built by Argentina in the pampas in the 1870s. The use of this trade route effectively ended with the Conquest of the Desert (1876-1878) carried out by the Argentine Army.
Diablo Range
The Diablo Range's following peaks and ridges are between and are distinct landmarks. Mount Diablo (), San Benito Mountain (), Mount Hamilton Ridge (), and Mount Stakes ().
The Diablo Range is paralleled for much of its distance by U.S. Route 101 to the west and by I-5 to the east.
Major routes of travel through the range include:
Natural regions of Chile
Most of the region is covered by the Atacama Desert and has a dry arid climate. The coast range has peaks over 2000 m and ends in cliffs in the coast. There are large salt flats in the Intermediate depression and the Andes. Norte Grande has Chile's highest mountains including Ojos del Salado (6,891 m) but host also the Altiplano and puna high plateaus.
Vizcachas Mountains
The Vizcachas Mountains is a mountain range northwest of Santiago, in the Santiago Metropolitan Region, Chile. It is part of the Chilean Coast Ranges System.
Chile
The main attractions for tourists are places of natural beauty situated in the extreme zones of the country: San Pedro de Atacama, in the north, is very popular with foreign tourists who arrive to admire the Incaic architecture, the altiplano lakes, and the Valley of the Moon. In Putre, also in the north, there is the Chungará Lake, as well as the Parinacota and the Pomerape volcanoes, with altitudes of 6,348 m and 6,282 m, respectively. Throughout the central Andes there are many ski resorts of international repute, including Portillo, Valle Nevado and Termas de Chillán.
Geology of Chile
The Chilean Coast Range runs southward along the coast (parallel to the Andes) from Morro de Arica to Taitao Peninsula, ending at the Chile Triple Junction. The range, a combined horst, forearc high and accretionary wedge, was separated from the Andes during the Tertiary rise due to the subsidence of the Intermediate Depression.
Geology of Chile
In Norte Grande the mountains form a series of plateaus, such as Puna de Atacama and the Altiplano. At a south latitude of 27 degrees, Chile's highest mountain (Ojos del Salado) reaches a height of . Below 42 degrees south, the Andes split into a fjord landscape and the highest mountain is Monte San Lorenzo at . As the mountains ebb, the snow line lowers; in the Llanquihue it is at , and in the Magallanes.
Cordillera Province, Chile
Cordillera Province () is one of six provinces in the Santiago Metropolitan Region of central Chile. Its topography includes a small area of Chile's central valley, glaciers, rivers, volcanoes, and the Andes range, which forms the border with Mendoza Province in Argentina. The provincial capital of Puente Alto lies approximately south-southeast of Santiago.
Central Chile
The topography of central Chile includes a coastal range of mountains running parallel to the Andes. Lying between the two mountain ranges is the so-called Central Valley, which contains some of the richest agricultural land in the country, especially in its northern portion. The area just north and south of Santiago is a large producer of fruits, including the grapes from which the best Chilean wines are made. Exports of fresh fruit began to rise dramatically in the mid-1970s because Chilean growers had the advantage of being able to reach markets in the Northern Hemisphere during that part of the world's winter. Most of these exports, such as grapes, apples, and peaches, go by refrigerator ships, but some, such as berries, go by air freight.
Tourism in Chile
This area is home to the main ski resorts in Chile, which attract a significant number of tourists from the northern hemisphere because the reversed alpine skiing season. They are Chapa Verde, Portillo, Valle Nevado and Termas de Chillán. Furthermore, Wine tourism is common in Zona Central, and the Wine Routes of the Casablanca, Cachapoal and Colchagua valleys are some of the finest in Chile.
Villarrica National Park
Villarrica National Park is located in the Andes, in the La Araucanía and Los Ríos regions of Chile, near Pucón. The centerpiece of the park is a line of three volcanoes stretching transversely to the Andean range: Villarrica, Quetrupillán, and Lanín. Other mountains in the park include Quinquilil volcano (), also known as "Colmillo del Diablo", and Cerro Las Peinetas, which lies on the border between Argentina and Chile. It ranges in elevation from to at Lanín Volcano.
North America
Central America has many mountain ranges; the longest are the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, the Cordillera Isabelia, and the Cordillera de Talamanca. Between the mountain ranges lie fertile valleys that are suitable for the people; in fact, most of the population of Honduras, Costa Rica, and Guatemala live in valleys. Valleys are also suitable for the production of coffee, beans, and other crops.
Pyrenees
Three main long-distance footpaths run the length of the mountain range: the GR 10 across the northern slopes, the GR 11 across the southern slopes, and the HRP which traverses peaks and ridges along a high altitude route. In addition, there are numerous marked and unmarked trails throughout the region.
List of glaciers
The glaciers of Chile cover 2.7% (20,188 km) of the land area of the country, excluding Antártica Chilena, and have a considerable impact on its landscape and water supply. By surface 80% of South America’s glaciers lie in Chile. Glaciers develop in the Andes of Chile from 27˚S southwards and in a very few places north of 18°30'S in the extreme north of the country: in between they are absent because of extreme aridity, though rock glaciers formed from permafrost are common. The largest glaciers of Chile are the Northern and Southern Patagonian Ice Fields. From a latitude of 47° S and south some glaciers reach sea level.
Hiking in Chile
The Rio Olivares (Olivares River) trail runs through the Parque Río Olivares, located in the Andes due east of Santiago, and extends 27 km from the Bocatoma Río Olivares to the 200 m high Salto Grande waterfall and back again. There are several viewpoints on the hike overlooking mountains such as Cerro El Plomo, which, at 5,424 meters, is the highest peak visible from Santiago on a clear day.
Tourism in Chile
The latitudinal width of the country, which spans over 39° (over 72° if the Chilean Antarctic Territory is included) its elevation and influence of the Pacific Ocean are the main factors behind the climatic variety and landscape of Chile, which determines the development of the formation of different ecosystems in the country.
Llanos de Challe National Park
Llanos de Challe National Park is located on the Pacific coast of the Atacama Region, Chile. The park's mountains are moistened by the Camanchaca, creating a fog and mist-fed ecosystem called lomas (Spanish for "hills."). The park is one of the southernmost locations of the lomas which are scattered along the coastal desert from northern Chile to northern Peru. The highest elevation in the park is "Cerro Negro" at 950 m.
Outline of Chile
Chile – country in South America occupying a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Prior to the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, northern and central Chile was under Inca rule while independent Mapuche inhabited south-central Chile. Chile declared its independence from Spain on 12 February 1818. Today Chile is one of South America's most stable and prosperous nations, a recognized middle power, and an emerging economy.Geography of Chile
List of ecoregions in Chile
Chinchillidae
The Chinchillidae are native to South America. Chinchillas and mountain viscachas live in remote mountainous regions of Chile and Peru, on rocky surfaces and among boulders. Plains viscachas are found in the plains of Argentina, from the Gran Chaco area southwards to Patagonia.
Choco District
The Chila mountain range traverses the district. One of the highest mountains of the district is Chila at above sea level. Other mountains are listed below:
Chile
Due to the characteristics of the territory, Chile is crossed by numerous rivers generally short in length and with low torrential flow. They commonly extend from the Andes to the Pacific Ocean, flowing in an East to West.
Volcanology of Chile
Volcanology of Chile studies a continuous volcanic process that has a strong influence on Chilean landscape, geology, economy and society. Volcanism constantly renews the Chilean landscape with lava flows, lava plateaus, lava domes, cinder cones, stratovolcanoes, shield volcanoes, submarine volcanoes, calderas, diatremes, and maars. However volcanism in Chile as well as in other parts of the world is also associated with several natural hazards such as lahars, earthquakes, pyroclastic flows, toxic gases and ash. Continental Chile has a high concentration of active volcanoes due to its location along the Peru–Chile Trench, a subduction zone where the Nazca and Antarctic Plates are driven beneath the South American Plate. Chile has been subject to volcanism since at least late Paleozoic when subduction along the western margin of South America began. Easter Island, Juan Fernández Islands and other oceanic islands of Chile are extinct volcanoes created by hotspots. Chile has about 500 volcanoes considered active, 60 of which have had recorded eruptions in the last 450 years. The volcanoes with most recorded eruptions are:
Geology of Chile
The Intermediate Depression, a series of faults running north to south, separates the Andes from the Coast Range with a steady decrease in altitude as the latitude increases. In Norte Grande the Intermediate Depression is partially covered by a series of salt flats, and has the world's largest potassium nitrate deposits. In Norte Chico, the depression disappears briefly before reappearing in a narrow valley at Santiago. From the narrows southward the valley widens until it is interrupted near Loncoche by the Bahía Mansa Metamorphic Complex (part of the Coast Range), then widening at Los Llanos (near Paillaco). In central and southern Chile (33°-42° south), the landscape is partially covered with glacial sediments from the Andes. In Zona Austral (south of 42° south) the depression dips below sea level, appearing occasionally in islands such as Chiloé. Its southern end is the Isthmus of Ofqui.
Cordillera Riesco
The Cordillera Riesco is a mountain range
located in the Chilean Patagonia to the west of Puerto Natales. It extends in north-south direction on the eastern shore of the Fjord of the Mountains and parallel to the Cordillera Sarmiento. The rock towers of the "Grupo La Paz" are the centerpiece of this mountain range. The range includes the Cerro Toro formation, within which the Cueva del Milodon Natural Monument is situated; this monument comprises a cave complex where remains of the extinct Giant sloth have been recovered along with evidence of occupation by prehistoric man.
Natural regions of Chile
Covers all of Chilean Patagonia, and the Chiloé Archipelago. Zona austral has a subpolar oceanic climate and a vegetation of Magellanic subpolar forests in the west and Patagonian grasslands in the east. The former Patagonian Ice Sheet have eroded the coast range so that it now of islands and is not present south of Taitao Peninsula. The Intermediate depression is under the sea level. Fjords penetrate the Andes where there are also two ice sheets and several glacial lakes.
Huallanca mountain range
The Huallanca mountain range (possibly from Quechua, "wallanka" mountain range; a cactus plant ("Opuntia subulata"); also called Chaupi Janca or Shicra Shicra (possibly from Quechua "sikra" woven basket) lies in the Andes of Peru. It is located in the Ancash Region, Bolognesi Province. The Huallanca mountain range is a small range southeast of the Cordillera Blanca and north of the Huayhuash mountain range extending between 9°52' and 10°03'S and 76°58' and 77°04'W for about 19 km in a northeasterly direction.
Chilean Coast Range
Like the Andes, the coastal range becomes progressively lower with increasing latitude. The range begins at Morro de Arica in the north and reaches its highest point, of 3114 m, in Sierra Vicuña Mackenna in the Antofagasta Region. Between Copiapó and Aconcagua rivers, in the so-called Norte Chico region, the range fuses with the Andes. Just north of Santiago the range separates from the Andes but comes close to it again near Paine, a southern suburb of Santiago, and San Fernando. From Santiago south the range loses height until reaching the Bío-Bío River, beyond which the Nahuelbuta range emerges which reaches about 1500 m in its central parts. South of Nahuelbuta Range, in the Araucanía Region, the coastal range is replaced by a flatland area. South of Toltén River the range rises again as the Cordillera de Mahuidanchi. Beyond the heights of Corral this range changes into Cordillera Pelada. From Chacao Channel south the range is penetrated by the sea creating islands and peninsulas. Chiloé Island, the largest of these, has two ranges: Cordillera del Piuchén from Chacao Channel to Cucao Lake and Pirulil Range in the southern half. South of Chiloé the portions of the range above sea level form the Guaitecas and the Chonos Archipelagos. The southern extreme of the range forms the Taitao Peninsula and its sub-peninsula Tres Montes.
Agriculture in Chile
Chile’s principal growing region and agricultural heartland is the Central Valley bounde by the Chilean Coast Range to the west, the Andes to the east Aconcagua River to the north and Bío-Bío River to the south. In the northern half of Chile, cultivation is highly dependent on irrigation. South of the Central Valley, cultivation is gradually replaced by aquaculture, silviculture, sheep and cattle farming.
American Cordillera
From north to south, this sequence of overlapping and parallel ranges begins with the Alaska Range and the Brooks Range in Alaska and runs through the Yukon into British Columbia. The main belt of the Rocky Mountains along with the parallel Columbia Mountains and Coast Ranges of mountains and islands continue through British Columbia and Vancouver Island. In the United States, the Cordillera branches include the Rockies, the Sierra Nevada, the Cascades, and various small Pacific coastal ranges. In Mexico, the Cordillera continues through the Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre Oriental, as well as the backbone mountains of the Baja California peninsula.
Chilla-Kimsa Chata mountain range
The Chilla-Kimsa Chata mountain range (also spelled Kimsachata, Aymara and Quechua "kimsa" three, Pukina "chata" mountain, "three mountains", Hispanicized spellings "Quimsachata, Quimsa Chata") is situated in Bolivia south east of Wiñaymarka Lake, the southern part of Lake Titicaca, in the La Paz Department, Ingavi Province. The range is named after one of highest mountains, the Kimsa Chata complex rising up to about 15 km south of Tiwanaku.
Chile
Chile is home to the world renowned Patagonian Trail that resides on the border between Argentina and Chile. Chile recently launched a massive scenic route for tourism in hopes of encouraging development based on conservation. The Route of Parks covers 1,740 miles and was designed Tompkin Conservation (founders Douglas Tompkins and wife Kristine).
Cerro Castillo National Reserve
Cerro Castillo National Reserve is a nature reserve of Chile located in the Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region, south of Coyhaique. The reserve is named after Cerro Castillo, its highest mountain and main attraction. The Carretera Austral passes through the reserve.
Pirulil Range
The Pirulil Range is a mountain range located in the southern half of Chiloé Island. It is located along the Pacific coast and forms part of the larger Chilean Coast Range. It northern boundary is the Cucao Lake, beyond of which Cordillera del Piuchén rises. To the south the range ends at Corcovado Gulf.
Chila mountain range
The Chila mountain range lies in the Arequipa Region in the Andes of Peru. It extends between 15°02' and 15°26'S and 71°43' and 72°37'W for about 80 km. The range is located in the provinces of Castilla and Caylloma.
Santiago Metropolitan Region
Metropolitana is Chile's only landlocked region and lies in the Intermediate Depression valley between the Chilean Coast Range and the Andes mountains. Cerro San Cristóbal dominates the sprawling Santiago cityscape at a height of above sea level with city suburbs steadily climbing the foothills of the Andes to the east. The Tupungato stratovolcano, measures on the Argentine border, is one of South America's highest peaks.
Chile
The northern Atacama Desert contains great mineral wealth, primarily copper and nitrates. The relatively small Central Valley, which includes Santiago, dominates the country in terms of population and agricultural resources. This area is also the historical center from which Chile expanded in the late 19th century, when it integrated the northern and southern regions. Southern Chile is rich in forests, grazing lands, and features a string of volcanoes and lakes. The southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting peninsulas, and islands. The Andes Mountains are located on the eastern border.
Atacama border dispute
The border dispute between Bolivia and Chile grew slowly during most of the 19th century over the Atacama corridor, a part of the Atacama Desert which now forms northern Chile. The Atacama Desert is bordered by the Coast Range on the west and the Andes on the east. The geography of the area was a very large factor in determining how the border dispute began. Because of the mountains, the area has rains only 2 to 4 times a century, making it one of the driest places on Earth.
Outline of Chile
Chile
Environmental issues in Chile
This page covers environmental issues in Chile. 
The country of Chile is a virtual continental island bounded by the Pacific Ocean on the west, the Andes Mountains on the east, and the Atacama Desert in the north; it is home to several important ecoregions, such as the Chilean Winter Rainfall-Valdivian Forests, a biodiversity hotspot that harbors richly endemic flora and fauna, and the Tropical Andes, which stretches into northern Chile.
Water resources management in Chile
Chile's rivers are generally short, running from the Andes in the East to the Pacific in the West. The most important rivers in Chile are the Loa River in the Northern Atacama desert, the country's longest river with a length of 420 km that has suffered pollution from copper mining; the Baker River in Patagonia, the country's largest river in terms of discharge that is the site of Chile's largest planned hydropower plant with a capacity of 2,400 Megawatts; the Biobío River, the country's second longest river that became famous for the construction of controversial Pangue Dam in 1996; the Maule River in the central part of Chile that is well known for its agriculture, including its irrigated vineyards, as well at the literature and poetry it has inspired; and the Maipo River that provides the capital Santiago with drinking water and is also a major source of water for irrigation.
Chilean Central Valley
The main portion the Central Valley extends from Tiltil (33°05' S) near Santiago to Temuco (38°45' S). The Coast Range and the Andes almost merge in two locations: one between Santiago and Rancagua and another between San Fernando and Rengo. The result is the enclosure of the Central Valley into two smaller basins in the north: Santiago Basin and Rancagua Basin.
Chihuahuan Desert
Several larger mountain ranges include the Sierra Madre, the Sierra del Carmen, the Organ Mountains, the Franklin Mountains, the Sacramento Mountains, the Chisos Mountains, the Guadalupe Mountains, and the Davis Mountains. These create "sky islands" of cooler, wetter, climates adjacent to, or within the desert, and such elevated areas have both coniferous and broadleaf woodlands, including forests along drainages and favored exposures. The Sandia–Manzano Mountains, the Magdalena–San Mateo Mountains, and the Gila Region border the Chihuahuan Desert at their lower elevations.
Temuco
The recent proliferation of bike lanes has placed transportation by bicycle as an emerging trend. By 2017, 35 km of bike lanes are expected to be operative.The Ñielol Hill houses the original temperate forest at this latitude in southern Chile as it was before the Spanish people colonised it. Currently, it has the status of natural monument and as such, it is a protected area. It has also a special meaning for the Mapuche people living in the Region, housing near the top a ceremonial area called La Patagua. We can also find a restaurant at the top of the Hill and a viewpoint of the east side of the city and Padre Las Casas, across the river. It is easily accessed by foot or car. The Southern Andean Volcano Observatory has its office there.
Hiking in Chile
The trail comprises four sections, with three shorter hikes (Los Pangues – Los Tatas, 5 km; Circuito Las Chilcas – El Torbellino, 2 km; and El Toro – Laguna del Laja, 4 km) and one longer hike (Laguna del Laja – Los Barros, 24 km). It starts from the Control Hut in the Los Pangues section of the park and runs round the north-east base of the Antuco Volcano and the south-west shore of the Laguna del Laja lake down to the lake’s southernmost point. Highlights include panoramic views of the lake, the volcano and Sierra Velluda, the highest peak in Chile’s Bío Bío Region. The trail can be traversed either on foot or on horseback.
Geography of Chile
The southern portion of central Chile contains a mixture of some excellent agricultural lands, many of which were covered originally with old-growth forests. They were cleared for agriculture but were soon exhausted of their organic matter and left to erode. Large tracts of this worn-out land, many of them on hilly terrain, have been reforested for the lumber, especially for the cellulose and paper industries. New investments during the 1980s in these industries transformed the rural economy of the region. The pre-Andean highlands and some of the taller and more massive mountains in the coastal range (principally the Cordillera de Nahuelbuta) still contain large tracts of old-growth forests of remarkable beauty, some of which have been set aside as national parks. Between the coastal mountains and the ocean, many areas of central Chile contain stretches of land that are lower than the Central Valley and are generally quite flat. The longest beaches can be found in such sections.
Chilean Coast Range
The range can be divided in several minor ranges. Some of these ranges and their boundaries are:The range has no single structural or lithological origin but is the result of the alignment of horst, forearc highs and upthrusted blocks along Chile's coast. The range was separated from the Andes during the Tertiary rise of the Andes due to the subsidence of the Intermediate Depression.
Hiking in Chile
This trail leads through Santiago’s Parque Metropolitano, which contains the well-known Cerro San Cristóbal that rises 800 AMSL in the center of this city. The 9.5 km trail begins on the southwest side of the hill, circles below the summit to the eastern side of the hill and then runs north to the exit in the Mirador el Sauce sector, near the Camino La Pirámide. Points of interest include the National Zoo, two public swimming pools and a funicular which dates from 1925.
Sport in Chile
In the winter months, many Chileans participate in winter sports, especially skiing and snowboarding. Less than 35 kilometers from Santiago, ski resorts are located in El Colorado, Farellones, La Parva and Valle Nevado. Located in the Valparaíso Region is the resort of Portillo, which claims to be the oldest in South America and which hosted the 1966 World Alpine Ski Championships. Other major ski centers include Termas de Chillán, Antuco, Volcán Villarrica, and Antillanca. In addition, Chilean mountain climbers have reached major summits, such as Mount Everest.
Mountain range
Most geologically young mountain ranges on the Earth's land surface are associated with either the Pacific Ring of Fire or the Alpide Belt. The Pacific Ring of Fire includes the Andes of South America, extends through the North American Cordillera along the Pacific Coast, the Aleutian Range, on through Kamchatka, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, to New Zealand. The Andes is long and is often considered the world's longest mountain system.
Cordillera Occidental (Central Andes)
The Cordillera Occidental of Bolivia is part of the Andes (that is also part of the American Cordillera), a mountain range characterized by volcanic activity, making up the natural border with Chile and starting in the north with Juqhuri and ending in the south at the Licancabur volcano, which is on the southern limit of Bolivia with Chile. The border goes through the innominated point located at two thirds of elevation of Licancabur's northeastern slope at the southwestermost point of Bolivia at 22° 49' 41" south and 67° 52' 35" west. The climate of the region is cold and inadequate for animal and plant life. Its main feature is its ground, in which are large quantities of metallic minerals including gold, silver, copper, and others. The range consists of three sections:
Chilean Central Valley
In northernmost Chile the central valley is made up of the Pampitas, a series of small flats dissected by deep valleys. Immediately south of the Pampitas, in Tarapacá Region and northern of Antofagasta Region, the Central Valley is known as Pampa del Tamarugal. Contrary to the Pampitas valleys descending from the Andes do not incise the plains but merge into the surface of Pampa del Tamarugal at a height of "c". 1500 m. The westernmost portion of Pampa del Tamarugal has a height of 600 m. This western part contain a series of raised areas called "pampas" and basins containing salt flats. Interconnecting basins are important corridors for communication and transport in northern Chile.
Transverse Valleys
The Transverse Valleys (Spanish: "Valles transversales") are a group of transverse valleys in the semi-arid northern Chile. They run from east to west (traversing Chile), being among the most prominent geographical features in the regions they cross. They are located in the Chilean regions of Valparaíso, Coquimbo, and Atacama. They share some characteristics, such as reaching the Pacific Ocean without passing through an Intermediate Depression, being rather deep and dissecting the landscape, concentrating most agriculture and population in the areas through which they pass, and being intensively cultivated. They are one of the defining elements the Chilean natural region of Norte Chico. The area of the Transverse Valleys spans roughly a length of 600 km from north to south.
Cordillera del Piuchén
Piuchén Range is one of the two mountain range located on Chiloé Island, in southern Chile. It is located along the Pacific Coast, and is part of the Chilean Coast Range System.
Climate of Chile
On a synoptic scale, the most important factors that control the climate in Chile are the Pacific Anticyclone, the southern circumpolar low pressure area, the cold Humboldt current, the Chilean Coast Range and the Andes Mountains. Despite Chile's narrowness, some interior regions may experience wide temperature oscillations and cities such as San Pedro de Atacama, may even experience a continental climate. In the extreme northeast and southeast the border of Chile extends beyond the Andes into the Altiplano and the Patagonian plains, giving these regions climate patterns similar to those seen in Bolivia and Argentina respectively.
Geology of Chile
The subduction interactions shaped four main morphostructures of Chile: the Andes; the Intermediate Depression, the Coast Range, and the Peru–Chile Trench off the coast. Since Chile is on an active continental margin, it has a large number of volcanoes. Almost the entire country is subject to earthquakes arising from strains in the Nazca and Antarctic Plates or shallow strike-slip faults. Northern Chilean mineral resources are a major economic resources, and the country is the leading producer of copper, lithium and molybdenum. Most of these mineral deposits were created from magmatic hydrothermal activity. The water required to form those deposits derived from the subducted slab of the oceanic crust beneath the Andes.
Chile
Chile (; ), officially the Republic of Chile (), is a South American country occupying a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far south. Chilean territory includes the Pacific islands of Juan Fernández, Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas, and Easter Island in Oceania. Chile also claims about of Antarctica, although all claims are suspended under the Antarctic Treaty.
Chilean Central Valley
The valley runs an un-interrupted leght of 360 km from Angostura de Pelequén in the north to Bío Bío River (37°40' S) in the south. It broadens from 12 km at Molina (35°05' S) in the north to 74 km in the south at Laja (37°15' S) the relief being gently undulating. Conglomerate of Andean provenance cover large swathes of the Central Valley being less common to the west near the Coast Range. Occasionally the valley contains isolated hills and mountains made up of basement rocks. At the latitudes of Temuco the Coast Range is subdued to such degree the Central Valley coalesces with the coastal plains.
Cerro Pared Norte
Cerro Pared Norte is a mountain located in the Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region of Chile. It lies on the Northern Patagonian Ice Field, at the center of a mountain ridge with steep slopes and sheer cliffs, at whose southern and northern tips lie, respectively, "Cerro Pared Sur" (2,548 m) and an unnamed summit. A glacier named after the mountain originates from their eastern slopes. "Pared Norte" (Spanish for "North Wall") gets its name from its shape and location.
Frontal Cordillera
Frontal Cordillera () is a mountain range in western Argentina that forms part of the Andes. It extends in a north-south direction in the provinces of La Rioja, San Juan and Mendoza. To the west of the Frontal Cordillera lies the Principal Cordillera that makes up the Argentina–Chile border and the continental divide.
Economy of Chile
Chile's principal growing region and agricultural heartland is the Central Valley delimited by the Chilean Coast Range in the west, the Andes in the east Aconcagua River by the north and Bío-Bío River by the south. In the northern half of Chile cultivation is highly dependent on irrigation. South of the Central Valley cultivation is gradually replaced by aquaculture, silviculture, sheep and cattle farming.
Hiking in Chile
Lying to the south of Coyhaique and on the route of the Carretera Austral, the Cerro Castillo National Reserve is named after Cerro Castillo, its highest mountain at 2,675 meters. The trail begins in the park’s Lago Monreal sector and runs 50 km to Villa Cerro Castillo. Points of interest include the Alero Las Manos de Cerro Castillo National Monument, a cave near Cerro Castillo where it is possible to view prehistoric hand print paintings dating back approximately 6,000 years. In November, rodeo tournaments also take place in the Villa Frei and Villa Cerro Castillo sectors of the park.