A long narrow strip of land between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean, Chile stretches to Cape Horn, including at its southern end the Strait of Magellan and Tierra del Fuego, an island shared with Argentina. In the Pacific Ocean are Chile's several island possessions, including Easter Island, the Juan Fernandez Islands, and the Diego Ramrez islands. Chile also claims a sector of Antarctica.

The country is composed of three distinct and parallel natural regionsfrom east to west, the Andes, the central lowlands, and the Coast Ranges. The Chilean Andes contain many high peaks and volcanoes; Ojos del Salado (6,870 m) is the second highest point of South America. Chile is located along an active zone in the earth's crust and experiences numerous earthquakes, some of great magnitude. The rivers of Chile are generally short and swift-flowing, rising in the well-watered Andean highlands and flowing generally west to the Pacific Ocean; the Loa and Baker rivers are the longest, but those in the central portion of the country are much more important because of their use for irrigation and power production.

The climate, which varies from hot desert in the north through Mediterranean-type in the central portion to the cool and humid marine west coast type in the south, is influenced by the cold Peruvian (or Humboldt) Current along the coast of N Chile and by the Andes. Precipitation increases southward; the desert in the north is practically rainless, while S Chile receives abundant precipitation throughout the year. However, along the coast of N Chile high humidity and dense fogs modify the desert climate. The Andes are an orographic barrier and the western slopes and the peaks receive much precipitation; permanently snowcapped mountains are found along Chile's length.

The different geographical features that you will go through on your journey can be divided into three parts.

1. The middle part of Chile (the northern part with the extensive desert zone of Atacama is not part of the route)

2. The southern part of Chile and

3. The Antarcitca

The middle portion of the country, roughly between lat. 30S and 38S, has a Mediterranean-type climate and fertile soils, and is the nation's most populous and productive region as well as the political and cultural center. It contains Chile's largest citiesSantiago, Valparaiso, and Conception. Mineral deposits (in particular copper, coal, and silver) are found in central Chile, and the rivers, especially the Bo-Bo, have been harnessed to generate electricity; hydroelectricity is responsible for 70% of Chile's power. The region, the most highly industrialized section of Chile, produces a large variety of manufactured products, especially in and around Santiago, Concepcin, and Valparaiso (which is also Chile's chief port). Between the Andes and the Coast Ranges is the Vale of Chile, a long valley divided into basins by Andean spurs. The valley is the heart of the republic, having the highest population density and the highest agricultural and industrial output.

The Southern Chile, extending from the Bo-Bo River to Cape Horn, is cold and humid, with dense forests, heavy rainfall, snow-covered peaks, glaciers, and islands. Sections of this region, which is in the direct path of moist westerly winds, receive more than 100 in. (254 cm) of precipitation annually. Because of subsidence of the earth's crust, the Coast Ranges and the central lowlands have been partially submerged, forming the extensive archipelago of S Chile, an area of craggy islands, numerous channels, and deep fjords. The Chilean Lake District is a noted resort area. Although all of S Chile is forested, only the drier northern part has exploitable timber resources; Puerto Montt and Temuco are major timber-handling centers. The rest of the region is a wilderness of midlatitude rain forest, which has been extensively logged. Pollution and erosion have added to the environmental threat. Because of the climate, agriculture is limited; oats and potatoes are the chief crops. Livestock raising (cattle and pigs) is an important activity. A portion of extreme S Chile lies in the rain shadow of the Andes and is covered by natural grasslands; extensive sheep grazing is carried on, with wool, mutton, and skins the chief products. Cattle are also raised. This area also yields petroleum. Valdivia, a port on the Pacific Ocean, is the fourth largest industrial center of Chile; Punta Arenas on the Strait of Magellan is the world's southernmost city.

The Antarctica

Antarctica consists of two major regions: W Antarctica (6,475,000 sq km), a mountainous archipelago that includes the Antarctic Peninsula, and E Antarctica (7,770,000 sq km), geologically a continental shield. They are joined into a single continental mass by an ice sheet thousands of feet thick.

Less than 5% of Antarctica is free of ice; these areas include mountain peaks, arid dry valleys, small coastal areas, and islands. Except for mountain ranges, much of E Antarctica's rock surface is near sea level; In W Antarctica there is great variation in the sub glacial relief, suggesting mountainous islands or submerged ranges separated by deep sounds beneath the ice cover. Since the 1970s lakes of liquid water have been found underneath the continental ice; the largest known of these is Lake Vostok (500 m deep), which lies 4 km beneath the Russian Vostok research station in E Antarctica.

The two major coastal indentations are the Ross Sea, facing the Pacific Ocean, and the Weddell Sea, facing the Atlantic Ocean.

The ice-drowned, mountainous archipelago of W Antarctica is related to the Andes Mts. of South America and is structurally connected to them by way of the Antarctic Peninsula and the Scotia Arc (South Georgia and the South Orkney and South Sandwich islands). There has been much volcanism down to the present. Mountains of the Antarctic Peninsula rise to c. 3,350 m; the mountains of Marie Byrd Land have comparable heights. A variety of mineral deposits have been discovered in Antarctica, but the extent of the deposits is largely unknown and their relative inaccessibility makes their utility doubtful.

Antarctica is surrounded by the world's stormiest seas. A belt of pack ice surrounds the continent; only a few areas are ice-free at the end of most summers. The physical boundary most widely accepted today for the Antarctic region is the Antarctic Convergence, a zone 40 km wide encircling the earth roughly between the 50th and 60th parallels of latitude. The difference in temperature and chemical content of the water on the two sides of the zone is reflected in noticeable differences in air temperature and in marine life.

On your trip you will exclusively visit the Antarctic Peninsula, the glaciated mountain region of W Antarctica, extending 1,930 km N toward South America; Most of its NE coast is fringed by the Larsen ice shelf. The peninsula is surrounded by numerous islands, including the South Shetlands and the Palmer Archipelago. The tip of the peninsula 1,078 km from Cape Horn is Antarctica's farthest point from the South Pole. The continent's only flowering plants are found on the peninsula.

The northwest coast of the peninsula is believed to have been mapped by the British navigator James Bransfield in Jan., 1820, and was explored by sealers in 182021. First considered to be part of the continent, the peninsula was later (1928) thought to be a group of islands; the John Rymill expedition (193437) proved its peninsularity. The peninsula is now the site of numerous research stations. The disintegration of a Rhode Islandsized section of the Larsen ice shelf over a few weeks time in 2002, although directly due to locally warmer temperatures, was also regarded by some scientists as a result of the more general global warming.