Geographic Overview
Chile stretches about 2,700 miles from north to south, making room for many different climates. For example, the Atacama Desert takes up almost all of northern Chile, stretching from just south of the Peruvian border to foothills of the Andes mountains located at the north end of central Chile. The Atacama is the driest desert in the world, and some parts of it have never been rained on in recorded history, but when it does rain in the desert, it suddenly blooms, and is covered in bright pink blossoms. Ojos del Salado is the tallest mountain in Chile at about 22,500 feet high, and it is located in the Atacama Desert. Patagonia is another region of Chile with an extreme climate. It is located partly in Chile and partly in Argentina, and is home to towering, snow-capped mountains, and glaciers that can be as big as 100 square miles. Central Chile is a region with a more moderate climate, stretching from the Atacama Desert to the Bio-Bio river, and houses many of the large cities of Chile, including the capital, Santiago. Part of the reason that Chile has a small population for its land area is so much of the country is so sparsely populated.