Total area: 756,950 km2
land area: 748,800 km2; includes Isla de Pascua (Easter Island) and Isla Sala y Gomez

Comparative area: slightly smaller than twice the size of Montana

Land boundaries: 6,171 km total
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

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 claim

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 NEGL%; meadows and pastures 16%; forest and woodland 21%; other 56%; includes irrigated 2%

Environment: subject to severe earthquakes, active volcanism, tsunami; Atacama Desert one of world's driest regions; desertification

Note: strategic location relative to sea lanes between Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage)

NOTE: The information regarding Chile on this page is re-published from the 1991 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Chile Geography 1991 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Chile Geography 1991 should be addressed to the CIA.