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Intermediate Depression
The Central Valley ( es, Valle Central), Intermediate Depression, or Longitudinal Valley is the depression between the Chilean Coastal Range and the Andes Mountains. The Chilean Central Valley extends from the border with Peru to Puerto Montt in southern Chile, with a notable interruption at Norte Chico (27°20'–33°00' S). South of Puerto Montt the valley has a continuation as a series of marine basins up to the isthmus of Ofqui. Some of Chile's most populous cities lie within the valley including Santiago, Temuco, Rancagua, Talca and Chillán. Northern section (18°30'–27°20' S) In northernmost Chile the central valley is made up of the Pampitas, a series of small flats dissected by deep valleys.Börger, p. 40. Immediately south of the Pampitas, in Tarapacá Region and northern of Antofagasta Region, the Central Valley is known as Pampa del Tamarugal.Börger, p. 41.Brüggen, p. 6. Contrary to the Pampitas valleys descending from the Andes do not incise the plains but merg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chilean Coast Range
The Chilean Coastal Range ( es, Cordillera de la Costa) is a mountain range that runs from north to south along the Pacific coast of South America parallel to the Andean Mountains, extending from Morro de Arica in the north to Taitao Peninsula, where it ends at the Chile Triple Junction, in the south. The range has a strong influence on the climate of Chile since it produces a rain shadow to the east. Because of this the vegetation growing on the seaward slopes is much more exuberant than in the interior. Compared to the coastal lowlands and the Intermediate Depression, it is sparsely populated with land use varying from protected areas to grazing and silviculture. The range is present in all Chilean regions, except for Coquimbo Region and Magallanes Region. Geography Like the Andes, the coastal range becomes progressively lower with increasing latitude. The range begins at Morro de Arica in the north and reaches its highest point, of 3114 m, in Sierra Vicuña Mackenna in the An ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tarapacá Region
The Tarapacá Region ( es, Región de Tarapacá, ) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions. It comprises two provinces, Iquique and Tamarugal. It borders the Chilean Arica and Parinacota Region to the north, Bolivia's Oruro Department and Potosí Department on the east, Chile's Antofagasta Region to the south and the Pacific Ocean to the west. The port city of Iquique is the region's capital. Much of the region was once the Tarapacá Province of Peru, which was annexed by Chile under the 1883 Treaty of Ancón at the close of the War of the Pacific. The region was important economically as a site of intense saltpeter mining, before synthetic nitrate manufacturing became possible. A number of abandoned mining towns can still be found in the region. The present day Tarapacá Region was created in 2007 by subdividing the former Tarapacá Region under Law No. 20,175, which was signed by President Michelle Bachelet in Arica. Administration The government of the r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nolana Leptophylla
''Nolana'' (Chilean bell flower) is a genus of hard annual or perennial plants in the nightshade family. The genus is mostly native to Chile and Peru. Species in this genus, especially '' N. paradoxa'', serve as a model system for studies on flower color. Classification There are a number of synonyms for ''Nolana'': ''Alibrexia'', ''Aplocarya'', ''Bargemontia'', ''Dolia'', ''Gubleria'', ''Leloutrea'', ''Neudorfia'', ''Osteocarpus'', ''Pachysolen'', ''Periloba'', ''Rayera'', ''Sorema'', ''Teganium'', ''Tula'', ''Velpeaulia'', ''Walberia'', and ''Zwingera''. ''Nolana'' is the only genus in the Solanaceae which has a fruit composed of mericarps, although its flower and other vegetative morphology is similar to other plants in this family. It seems to be most closely related to '' Lycium'' and ''Grabowskia''. There are about 85 to 89 species.Dillon, M. O. and J. WenPhylogenetic Systematics of Nolana (Solanaceae) and Biogeographic Implications for the Atacama and Peruvian Desert ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chilean Matorral
The Chilean Matorral (NT1201) is a terrestrial ecoregion of central Chile, located on the west coast of South America. It is in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, part of the Neotropical realm. Matorral is typically characterized by a temperate Mediterranean climate, with rainy winters and dry summers. It is one of the world's five Mediterranean climate regions, which are all located in the middle latitudes on the west coast of continents. The Mediterranean Basin, the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of California and Baja California, the Cape Province of South Africa, and Southwest Australia are the other Mediterranean-climate regions. Setting The Matorral occupies central Chile between 32° and 37° south latitude. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west, and the Chilean Coastal Range lies parallel to the coast. The Chilean Central Valley lies between the Coastal range and the Andes Mountains, which bound the Matorral ecoregion on the east. To the nor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atacama Desert
The Atacama Desert ( es, Desierto de Atacama) is a desert plateau in South America covering a 1,600 km (990 mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes Mountains. The Atacama Desert is the driest nonpolar desert in the world, and the second driest overall, just behind some very specific spots within the McMurdo Dry Valleys as well as the only hot true desert to receive less precipitation than the polar deserts, and the largest fog desert in the world. Both regions have been used as experimentation sites on Earth for Mars expedition simulations. The Atacama Desert occupies , or if the barren lower slopes of the Andes are included. Most of the desert is composed of stony terrain, salt lakes (''salares''), sand, and felsic lava that flows towards the Andes. The desert owes its extreme aridity to a constant temperature inversion due to the cool north-flowing Humboldt ocean current and to the presence of the strong Pacific anticyclone. The most arid re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fault (geology)
In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic forces, with the largest forming the boundaries between the plates, such as the megathrust faults of subduction zones or transform faults. Energy release associated with rapid movement on active faults is the cause of most earthquakes. Faults may also displace slowly, by aseismic creep. A ''fault plane'' is the plane that represents the fracture surface of a fault. A ''fault trace'' or ''fault line'' is a place where the fault can be seen or mapped on the surface. A fault trace is also the line commonly plotted on geologic maps to represent a fault. A ''fault zone'' is a cluster of parallel faults. However, the term is also used for the zone of crushed rock along a single fault. Prolonged motion along closely spaced faults can blur the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Copiapó River
Copiapó River is a river of Chile located in the Atacama Region. Starting at the confluence of the ''Jorquera'' and ''Pulido'' rivers, the Copiapó flows for only 2.5 km before receiving the waters of the '' Manflas River''. It flows through the city of Copiapó Copiapó () is a city and commune in northern Chile, located about 65 kilometers east of the coastal town of Caldera. Founded on December 8, 1744, it is the capital of Copiapó Province and Atacama Region. Copiapó lies about 800 km nort .... See also * List of rivers of Chile References Rivers of Atacama Region Rivers of Chile {{Chile-river-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chañaral
Chañaral is a small coastal city and commune in the Atacama Region, Chile and capital of the Chañaral Province. It is largely unknown by tourists, who generally head straight for towns such as San Pedro de Atacama. The town has no high rise buildings. On the arid hills nearby is a lighthouse which casts a beam over the town during the night. Throughout the day and night, there is a lively atmosphere on the narrow streets. Despite it being coastal, it is not a typical seaside resort, partly because the ocean is contaminated by the copper mining industry. Situated a short distance to the north is the Pan de Azúcar National Park. History In 1824, Diego de Almeyda discovered large natural deposits of copper in the area, and was the first in the mining industry in Chile to export it. For this reason, the town was founded in October 26,1833 as ''Chañaral de las Ánimas'' (" Chañar field of the Souls"). A few years later, Pedro Lujan discovered ore at El Salado, where a mine was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taltal
Taltal is a Chilean commune and city in Antofagasta Province, Antofagasta Region. According to the 2012 census, the commune has a population of 11,132 and has an area of . The commune is home to Paranal Observatory and includes the northern portion of Pan de Azúcar National Park. Etymology It has been claimed the etymological origin of the name is the Mapuche word ''Thalthal'', which means “night bird.” This would make it one of the northernmost Mapuche toponyms in Chile. History The history of Taltal begins with the opening of the copper mine "El Cobre" by José Antonio Moreno in 1850 about 20 kilometers north of Taltal. This brought miners and prospectors to the area. In 1855 Moreno expanded his operations to include Taltal. The discovery of copper in 1858 on nearby Mount Cachiyuyal increased pressure on the port, which had to utilize customs officials from Copiapo. So Moreno requested official recognition of the port which was granted by decree on 12 July 1858. Howe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cordillera Domeyko
The Cordillera Domeyko is a mountain range of the Andes located in northern Chile, west of Salar de Atacama. It runs north-south for approximately 600 km, parallel to the main chain. The mountain range marks the eastern border of the flat parts of Atacama Desert The Atacama Desert ( es, Desierto de Atacama) is a desert plateau in South America covering a 1,600 km (990 mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes Mountains. The Atacama Desert is the driest nonpolar desert in th .... Cordillera Domeyko was named after Ignacy Domeyko and is the world's lowest humidity mountain range. References External links [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loa River
The Loa River (Spanish: Río Loa) is a U-shaped river in Chile's northern Antofagasta Region. At long, it is the country's longest river and the main watercourse in the Atacama Desert. Course The Loa's sources are located on Andean mountain slopes at the foot of Miño Volcano. The upper Loa basin is flanked on the west by a ridge with elevations that reach above , whereas to the east lies a volcanic chain, which separates it from endorheic basins as that of Salar de Ascotán. The river flows south on an elevated plateau, for about , to the oasis of Chiu Chiu (CHEE-oo CHEE-oo). The upper courses of the river are at a considerable elevation above sea level and receive a large volume of water from the Andes, mainly of two major tributaries: San Pedro de Inacaliri River and Salado River. The former joins the Loa near Conchi reservoir and the latter about south of Chiu Chiu. The water of its upper course and tributaries is fresh. However the lower course, as in all the rivers of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
