The geography of Chile is extremely diverse, as the country extends from a latitude of 17° South to Cape Horn at 56° and from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Andes in the east.

Chile reaches from the middle of South America's west coast straight down to the southern tip of the continent, where it curves slightly eastward.

The Diego Ramírez Islands and Cape Horn, the southernmost points in the Americas where the Pacific and Atlantic oceans meet, are Chilean territory.

This latter earthquake occurred on May 22, the day after another major quake measuring 7.25 on the Richter scale, and covered an extensive section of south-central Chile.

The convergence between the Earth's surface plates has also generated the Andes, a geologically young mountain range that in Chilean territory alone, includes about 620 volcanoes, many of which are active.

Here, the elevated sections of the coastal range facing the Andes transform into a multitude of islands, creating a complex network of channels and fjords that have posed navigational challenges to seafarers.

The Humboldt Current, which originates northwest of the Antarctic Peninsula (which juts into the Bellingshausen Sea) and runs the full length of the Chilean coast, makes the water cold.

It is noted for its 867 monoliths (moais), which are huge (up to twenty meters high) and mysterious, expressionless faces sculpted of volcanic stone.

The Juan Fernández Islands, located 587 km (365 mi) west of Valparaíso, are the locale of a small fishing settlement.

The far north (Norte Grande), which extends from the Peruvian border to about 27° south latitude, a line roughly parallel to the Copiapó River, is extremely arid.

Contrary to the image of monochrome barrenness that most people associate with deserts, the landscape is spectacular, with its crisscrossing hills and mountains of all shapes and sizes, each with a unique hue depending on its mineral composition, its distance from the observer, and the time of day.

This topography generates coastal microclimates because the fog that frequently forms over the cold ocean waters, as well as any low clouds, is trapped by the high bluffs.

The edges of the desert in some sections have subterranean aquifers that have permitted the development of forests made up mainly of tamarugos, spiny trees native to the area that grow to a height of about twenty-five meters.

Most of those forests were cut down to fuel the fires of the many foundries established since colonial times to exploit the abundant deposits of copper, silver, and nitrate found in the area.

It is a semiarid region whose central area receives an average of about 25 mm (0.98 in) of rain during each of the four winter months, with trace amounts the rest of the year.

The winter rains and the melting of the snow that accumulates on the Andes produce rivers whose flow varies with the seasons, but which carry water year-round.

Their deep Transverse Valleys provide broad areas for cattle raising and, most important, fruit growing, an activity that has developed greatly since the mid-1970s.

The numerous rivers greatly increase their flow as a result of the winter rains and the spring melting of the Andean snows, and they contract considerably in the summer.

The combination of abundant snow in the Andes and relatively moderate winter temperatures creates excellent conditions for Alpine skiing.

Exports of fresh fruit began to rise dramatically in the mid-1970s because Chilean growers had the advantage of being able to reach markets in the Northern Hemisphere during winter in that part of the world.

The pre-Andean highlands and some of the taller and more massive mountains in the coastal range (principally the Cordillera de Nahuelbuta) still contain large tracts of old-growth forests of remarkable beauty, some of which have been set aside as national parks.

The snow-covered Andes form a constant backdrop to vistas of clear blue or even turquoise waters, as at Todos los Santos Lake.

The pastures in the northernmost section, around Osorno, are well suited for raising cattle; milk, cheese, and butter are important products of that area.

All kinds of berries grow in the area, some of which are exported, and freshwater farming of various species of trout and salmon has developed, with cultivators taking advantage of the abundant supply of clear running water.

This is the case with the huemul, a large deer, and the Chilean condor, the largest bird of its kind; both animals are on the national coat of arms.

The remaining Chilean cougars, which are bigger than the ones in California, have been driven to isolated national parks in the south by farmers who continue to hunt them because they kill sheep and goats.

The area generally is chilly and wet and houses a combination of channels, fjords, snow-capped mountains, and islands of all shapes and sizes within a narrow space.

This strait is one of the world's important sea-lanes because it unites the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through a channel that avoids the rough open waters off Cape Horn.

Despite these differing ideas about what land belongs to which country, former President of Chile Sebastián Piñera claims that these issues will get resolved.

[32] Chilean agriculture includes the cultivation and trade of grapes, apples, pears, onions, wheat, corn, oats, peaches, garlic, asparagus, and beans.