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Chile
Index
The far north (Norte Grande), which extends from the
Peruvian
border to about 27° south latitude, a line roughly
paralleled by the
Río Copiapó, is extremely arid. It contains the Atacama
Desert, one
of the driest areas in the world; in certain sections,
this desert
does not register any rainfall at all. Average monthly
temperatures
range at sea level between about 20.5° C during the summer
and about
14° C during the winter. Most of the population lives in
the coastal
area, where the temperatures are more moderate and the
humidity
higher. Contrary to the image of monochrome barrenness
that most
people associate with deserts, the landscape is
spectacular, with
its crisscrossing hills and mountains of all shapes and
sizes, each
with a unique color and hue depending on its mineral
composition,
its distance from the observer, and the time of day.
In the far north, the land generally rises vertically
from the
ocean, sometimes to elevations well over 1,000 meters. 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.
The far north is the only part of the country in which
there is
a large section of the Andean (plateau). The area receives
considerable rainfall during the summer months in what is
commonly
known as the "Bolivian winter," forming shallow lakes of
mostly
saline waters that are home to a number of bird species,
including
the Chilean flamingo. Some of the water from the plateau
trickles
down the Andes in the form of narrow rivers, many of which
form
oases before being lost to evaporation or absorption into
the
desert sands, salt beds, and aquifers. However, some
rivers do
manage to reach into the Pacific, including the Río Loa,
whose
U-shaped course across the desert makes it Chile's longest
river.
The water rights for one of the rivers, the Río Lauca,
remain a
source of dispute between Bolivia and Chile. These narrow
rivers
have carved fertile valleys in which an exuberant
vegetation
creates a stark contrast to the bone-dry hills. In such
areas,
roads usually are built half way up the arid elevations in
order to
maximize the intensive agricultural use of the irrigated
land. They
offer spectacular panoramic vistas, along with the
harrowing
experience of driving along the edges of cliffs.
In the far north, the kinds of fruits that grow well in
the
arid tropics thrive, and all kinds of vegetables can be
grown
year-round. However, the region's main economic foundation
is its
great mineral wealth. For instance, Chuquicamata, the
world's
largest open-pit copper mine, is located in the far north.
Since
the early 1970s, the fishing industry has also developed
enormously
in the main ports of the area, most notably Iquique and
Antofagasta
(see The
Current Structure of the Economy
, ch. 3).
Data as of March 1994
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