THE LAND OF CRAZY GEOGRAPHY

I
In 1985, before traveling to Chile, I went to a local tourism office and on a wall I saw a poster with a map showing the different regions: the desert of the north, the fertile valleys in the center, lakes and mountains of the south and glaciers of the extreme south. The caption at the bottom read "Chile-Crazy Geography." What better way todescribe a country that is 4, 184.29 kilometers long, but averages only 160.93 kilometers wide?

II
The northern third of Chile is the mineral-rich but bone-dry Atacama desert. How dry is the Atacama? In Calama, a person told us: "Yes...I think it rained about the year 1500." But, in contrast, the Andes mountains have snow-covered peaks and clear lakes and streams that are never more than 100 kilometers away.

III
The heart of Chile, the Central Valley, as opposed to the extreme north and south, is a land of major industrial cities such as Santiago and Valparaiso, and vast fruit and vegetable farms. The Central Valley is also rich in minerals, and the El Teniente copper mine is the world's largest underground mine.

IV
About 1,000 kilometers from the capital is the Chilean lake district, an area of deep blue lakes, clear mountain streams, pine forests, and snow-topped mountains. tourists can stay in wonderful lodges and go fishing, skiing, hiking, camping, and just enjoy Mother Nature.

V
The southern third of Chile, unlike the central zone, is a sparsely populated archipelago of thickly forested islands, treacherous glacier-covered mountains, and deep coastal fjords, similar to the Norwegian coast of Alaska.

VI
And in the very south of the country, so different form the dry desert, lies cool Antarctica - the coldest, and also the windiest continent situated over the South Pole. More than 99 percent of Antarctica is covered with ice and contains about 70 percent of the world's fresh water.