Location: Southern South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean between Argentina and Peru

Map references: South America, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area:
total area: 756,950 sq km
land area: 748,800 sq km
comparative area: slightly smaller than twice the size of Montana
note: includes Isla de Pascua (Easter Island) and Isla Sala y Gomez

Land boundaries: total 6,171 km, Argentina 5,150 km, Bolivia 861 km, Peru 160 km

Coastline: 6,435 km

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: short section of the southern boundary with Argentina is indefinite; Bolivia has wanted a sovereign corridor to the South Pacific Ocean since the Atacama area was lost to Chile in 1884; dispute with Bolivia over Rio Lauca water rights; territorial claim in Antarctica (Chilean Antarctic Territory) partially overlaps Argentine and British claims

Climate: temperate; desert in north; cool and damp in south

Terrain: low coastal mountains; fertile central valley; rugged Andes in east

Natural resources: copper, timber, iron ore, nitrates, precious metals, molybdenum

Land use:
arable land: 7%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 16%
forest and woodland: 21%
other: 56%

Irrigated land: 12,650 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
current issues: air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution from untreated sewage; deforestation contributing to loss of biodiversity; soil erosion; desertification
natural hazards: subject to severe earthquakes; active volcanism; tsunamis
international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea

Note: strategic location relative to sea lanes between Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage); Atacama Desert one of world's driest regions

NOTE: The information regarding Chile on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Chile Geography 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Chile Geography 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.