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Chile
Index
Figure 4. Topography and Drainage
In a classic book on the natural setting and people of
Chile,
Benjamín Subercaseaux Zañartu, a Chilean writer, describes
the
country's geography as loca (crazy). The book's
English
translator renders this term as "extravagant." Whether
crazy or
extravagant, there is little question that Chile's
territorial
shape is certainly among the world's most unusual. From
north to
south, Chile extends 4,270 kilometers, and yet it only
averages 177
kilometers east to west. On a map, Chile looks like a long
ribbon
reaching from the middle of South America's west coast
straight
down to the southern tip of the continent, where it curves
slightly
eastward. Cape Horn, the southernmost point in the
Americas, where
the Pacific and Atlantic oceans turbulently meet, is
Chilean
territory. Chile's northern neighbors are Peru and
Bolivia, and its
border with Argentina to the east, at 5,150 kilometers, is
one of
the world's longest
(see
fig. 4).
Chile's shape was determined by the fact that it began
as a
Spanish settlement on the western side of the mighty
cordillera of
the Andes, in the central part of the country. This range,
which
includes the two tallest peaks in the Americas--Aconcagua
(6,959
meters) and Nevado Ojos del Salado (6,880 meters)--is a
formidable
barrier, whose passes to the Argentine side are covered by
a heavy
blanket of snow during the winter months. As a result,
Chile could
expand beyond its original colonial territory only to the
south and
north. The colony grew southward by occupying lands
populated by
indigenous groups, and it grew northward by occupying
sections of
both Peru and Bolivia that were eventually awarded to
Chile in the
aftermath of the War of the Pacific (1879-83).
The northern two-thirds of Chile lie on top of the
telluric
Nazca Plate, which, moving eastward about ten centimeters
a year,
is forcing its way under the continental plate of South
America.
This movement has resulted in the formation of the
Peru-Chile
Trench, which lies beyond a narrow band of coastal waters
off the
northern two-thirds of the country. The trench is about
150
kilometers wide and averages about 5,000 meters in depth.
At its
deepest point, just north of the port of Antofagasta, it
plunges to
8,066 meters. Although the ocean's surface obscures this
fact, most
of Chile lies at the edge of a profound precipice.
The same telluric displacements that created the
Peru-Chile
Trench make the country highly prone to earthquakes.
During the
twentieth century, Chile has been struck by twenty-eight
major
earthquakes, all with a force greater than 6.9 on the
Richter scale (see
Glossary). The strongest of these occurred in 1906
(registering an estimated 8.4 on the Richter scale) and in
1960
(reaching 8.75). This latter earthquake occurred on May
22, the day
after another major quake measuring 7.25 on the Richter
scale, and
covered an extensive section of south-central Chile. It
caused a
tidal wave that decimated several fishing villages in the
south and
raised or lowered sections of the coast as much as two
meters. The
clash between the earth's surface plates has also
generated the
Andes, a geologically young mountain range that, in
Chilean
territory alone, includes about 620 volcanoes, many of
them active.
Almost sixty of these had erupted in the twentieth century
by the
early 1990s. More than half of Chile's land surface is
volcanic in
origin.
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.
Much of Chile's coastline is rugged, with surf that
seems to
explode against the rocks lying at the feet of high
bluffs. This
collision of land and sea gives way every so often to
lovely
beaches of various lengths, some of them encased by the
bluffs. The
Humboldt current, which originates northwest of the
Antarctic
Peninsula (which just into the Bellingshausen Sea) and
runs the
full length of the Chilean coast, makes the water frigid.
Swimming
at Chile's popular beaches in the central part of the
country,
where the water gets no warmer than 15° C in the summer,
requires
more than a bit of fortitude.
Chilean territory extends as far west as Polynesia.
The best
known of Chile's Pacific Islands is Easter Island (Isla de
Pascua,
also known by its Polynesian name of Rapa Nui), with a
population
of 2,800 people. Located 3,600 kilometers west of Chile's
mainland
port of Caldera, just below the Tropic of Capricorn,
Easter Island
provides Chile a gateway to the Pacific. It is noted for
its 867
monoliths (Moais), which are huge (up to twenty meters
high) and
mysterious, expressionless faces sculpted of volcanic
stone
(see
fig. 5). The Islas Juan Fernández, located 587
kilometers
west of
Valparaíso, are the locale of a small fishing settlement.
They are
famous for their lobster and the fact that one of the
islands, Isla
Robinson Crusoe, is where Alexander Selkirk, the
inspiration for
Daniel Defoe's novel, was marooned for about four years.
Data as of March 1994
A Long, Narrow Nation
Figure 4. Topography and Drainage
In a classic book on the natural setting and people of
Chile,
Benjamín Subercaseaux Zañartu, a Chilean writer, describes
the
country's geography as loca (crazy). The book's
English
translator renders this term as "extravagant." Whether
crazy or
extravagant, there is little question that Chile's
territorial
shape is certainly among the world's most unusual. From
north to
south, Chile extends 4,270 kilometers, and yet it only
averages 177
kilometers east to west. On a map, Chile looks like a long
ribbon
reaching from the middle of South America's west coast
straight
down to the southern tip of the continent, where it curves
slightly
eastward. Cape Horn, the southernmost point in the
Americas, where
the Pacific and Atlantic oceans turbulently meet, is
Chilean
territory. Chile's northern neighbors are Peru and
Bolivia, and its
border with Argentina to the east, at 5,150 kilometers, is
one of
the world's longest
(see
fig. 4).
Chile's shape was determined by the fact that it began
as a
Spanish settlement on the western side of the mighty
cordillera of
the Andes, in the central part of the country. This range,
which
includes the two tallest peaks in the Americas--Aconcagua
(6,959
meters) and Nevado Ojos del Salado (6,880 meters)--is a
formidable
barrier, whose passes to the Argentine side are covered by
a heavy
blanket of snow during the winter months. As a result,
Chile could
expand beyond its original colonial territory only to the
south and
north. The colony grew southward by occupying lands
populated by
indigenous groups, and it grew northward by occupying
sections of
both Peru and Bolivia that were eventually awarded to
Chile in the
aftermath of the War of the Pacific (1879-83).
The northern two-thirds of Chile lie on top of the
telluric
Nazca Plate, which, moving eastward about ten centimeters
a year,
is forcing its way under the continental plate of South
America.
This movement has resulted in the formation of the
Peru-Chile
Trench, which lies beyond a narrow band of coastal waters
off the
northern two-thirds of the country. The trench is about
150
kilometers wide and averages about 5,000 meters in depth.
At its
deepest point, just north of the port of Antofagasta, it
plunges to
8,066 meters. Although the ocean's surface obscures this
fact, most
of Chile lies at the edge of a profound precipice.
The same telluric displacements that created the
Peru-Chile
Trench make the country highly prone to earthquakes.
During the
twentieth century, Chile has been struck by twenty-eight
major
earthquakes, all with a force greater than 6.9 on the
Richter scale (see
Glossary). The strongest of these occurred in 1906
(registering an estimated 8.4 on the Richter scale) and in
1960
(reaching 8.75). This latter earthquake occurred on May
22, the day
after another major quake measuring 7.25 on the Richter
scale, and
covered an extensive section of south-central Chile. It
caused a
tidal wave that decimated several fishing villages in the
south and
raised or lowered sections of the coast as much as two
meters. The
clash between the earth's surface plates has also
generated the
Andes, a geologically young mountain range that, in
Chilean
territory alone, includes about 620 volcanoes, many of
them active.
Almost sixty of these had erupted in the twentieth century
by the
early 1990s. More than half of Chile's land surface is
volcanic in
origin.
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.
Much of Chile's coastline is rugged, with surf that
seems to
explode against the rocks lying at the feet of high
bluffs. This
collision of land and sea gives way every so often to
lovely
beaches of various lengths, some of them encased by the
bluffs. The
Humboldt current, which originates northwest of the
Antarctic
Peninsula (which just into the Bellingshausen Sea) and
runs the
full length of the Chilean coast, makes the water frigid.
Swimming
at Chile's popular beaches in the central part of the
country,
where the water gets no warmer than 15° C in the summer,
requires
more than a bit of fortitude.
Chilean territory extends as far west as Polynesia.
The best
known of Chile's Pacific Islands is Easter Island (Isla de
Pascua,
also known by its Polynesian name of Rapa Nui), with a
population
of 2,800 people. Located 3,600 kilometers west of Chile's
mainland
port of Caldera, just below the Tropic of Capricorn,
Easter Island
provides Chile a gateway to the Pacific. It is noted for
its 867
monoliths (Moais), which are huge (up to twenty meters
high) and
mysterious, expressionless faces sculpted of volcanic
stone
(see
fig. 5). The Islas Juan Fernández, located 587
kilometers
west of
Valparaíso, are the locale of a small fishing settlement.
They are
famous for their lobster and the fact that one of the
islands, Isla
Robinson Crusoe, is where Alexander Selkirk, the
inspiration for
Daniel Defoe's novel, was marooned for about four years.
Data as of March 1994
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