Norte Chico, Chile

Its northern border is formed by the limit with the Far North, to the west lies the Pacific Ocean, to the east the Andes mountains and Argentina, and to the south the Zona Central natural region.

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

In those sections where the airborne moisture of the sea is trapped by high bluffs overlooking the ocean, Valdivian temperate rainforest develop as the vegetation precipitates the vapor in the form of a misty rain.

Norte Chico is a highly mountainous district where distinct ranges or elongated spurs cross the country from the Andes to the coast, forming transverse valleys of great beauty and fertility.

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

[1] Some areas of Norte Chico feature a very dry air and negligible cloud cover, which make them an excellent location for telescopes.