The Geography of Chile

Chile is 2,650 miles long and 250 miles wide. That's a long country!!!

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Chile is made up of three different geographical regions. They are The Andes, The Coastal Range, and The Central Valley.

The Andes Mountain Range

 {short description of image} The Andes Mountains make up the entire Eastern border of Chile. In the Andes Range is Aconcague, the highest peak in South America reaching 22, 834 feet. This is about 4 1/2 miles high! Wow!
This mountain range also has over 2,000 extinct and active volcanoes. This is the densest concentration of volcanoes in the whole world!

The Coastal Range

The Coastal Range runs along the coastline of Northern and Central Chile from Arica to Puerto Montt. The range consists of cliffs rising from the shoreline. Along the coastline many of the cliffs have been eroded into high plateaus. South of Puerto Montt the range has been formed into a chain of about 3,000 hilly islands. Cape Horn is the southern most tip of Chile and of the continent of South America.  {short description of image}

The Central Valley Region

 {short description of image} The Central Valley is located between the Andes and The Coastal Range and is made up of two basins. The Northern Basin is the Atacama Desert and is one of the driest areas on Earth. The second basin is considered the most beautiful area of Chile. It has the best agricultural environment in the country. The majority of the people also live in this area. The capital city of Chile, Santiago is located in this basin.  {short description of image}

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