Cerro San Cristóbal dominates the sprawling Santiago cityscape at a height of 880 m (2,887 ft) above sea level with city suburbs steadily climbing the foothills of the Andes to the east.

Rural areas tend to be colder, as temperature reaches −10 °C (14 °F) in the coldest months (July, August) Most of the region is made up of an extremely fertile, level prairie that the locals call la Depresión intermedia (Intermediate Depression).

There is some occurrence of the endangered Chilean Wine Palm, Jubaea chilensis within the Santiago Province;[4] this iconic tree of central Chile had a much larger range prehistorically, before the decimation of much of its habitat by the expanding human population.

The capital of Santiago serves as the country's administrative, industrial, commercial, financial and cultural center, producing 41.5% of Chile's gross domestic product, according to central bank estimates.

Vitacura and El Golf host most of the city's high-rise buildings and are also home to the Latin American headquarters of several United Nations organizations.

[1] Though Santiago's expansion has caused newer vineyards to move to more rural locations, many of the country's oldest wineries, built in the 19th century, have preserved cellars in the valley.