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Chile Geography 1996

Location:

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

Map references:

South America

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:

permanent crops:

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 raw sewage; deforestation contributing to loss of biodiversity; soil erosion; desertification

natural hazards:

severe earthquakes; active volcanism; tsunamis

international agreements:

party to - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - 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

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