Area comparison map:

slightly smaller than twice the size of Montana

Land boundaries:
total: 7,801 km
[see also: Land boundaries - total country ranks ]
border countries (3): Argentina 6691 km, Bolivia 942 km, Peru 168 km

Coastline:
6,435 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - territorial sea country ranks ]
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - exclusive economic zone country ranks ]
contiguous zone: 24 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - contiguous zone country ranks ]
continental shelf: 200/350 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - continental shelf country ranks ]

Climate:
temperate; desert in north; Mediterranean in central region; cool and damp in south
More Climate Details

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

Elevation:
mean elevation: 1,871 m
[see also: Elevation - mean elevation country ranks ]
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Nevado Ojos del Salado 6,880 m

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

Land use:
agricultural land: 21.1% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - agricultural land country ranks ]
arable land: 1.7% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - arable land country ranks ]
permanent crops: 0.6% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - permanent crops country ranks ]
permanent pasture: 18.8% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - permanent pasture country ranks ]
forest: 21.9% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - forest country ranks ]
other: 57% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use country ranks ]

Irrigated land:
11,100 sq km (2012)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

Population distribution:
90% of the population is located in the middle third of the country around the capital of Santiago; the far north (anchored by the Atacama Desert) and the extreme south are relatively underpopulated

Natural hazards:
severe earthquakes; active volcanism; tsunamis

volcanism: significant volcanic activity due to more than three-dozen active volcanoes along the Andes Mountains; Lascar (5,592 m), which last erupted in 2007, is the most active volcano in the northern Chilean Andes; Llaima (3,125 m) in central Chile, which last erupted in 2009, is another of the country's most active; Chaiten's 2008 eruption forced major evacuations; other notable historically active volcanoes include Cerro Hudson, Calbuco, Copahue, Guallatiri, Llullaillaco, Nevados de Chillan, Puyehue, San Pedro, and Villarrica; see note 2 under "Geography - note"

Environment - current issues:
air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage; noise pollution; improper garbage disposal; soil degradation; widespread deforestation and mining threaten the environment; wildlife conservation

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:

note 1: the longest north-south trending country in the world, extending across 39 degrees of latitude; strategic location relative to sea lanes between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage)

note 2: Chile is one of the countries along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; up to 90% of the world's earthquakes and some 75% of the world's volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire

note 3: the Atacama Desert - the driest desert in the world - spreads across the northern part of the country; Ojos del Salado (6,893 m) in the Atacama Desert is the highest active volcano in the world, Chile's tallest mountain, and the second highest in the Western Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere - its small crater lake (at 6,390 m) is the world's highest lake