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Norte Chico, Chile
The Norte Chico (''Small North'', ''Near North'', ''Little North'') is one of the five natural regions into which CORFO divided continental Chile in 1950. 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. Although from a strictly geographic point of view, this natural region corresponds to the Chilean territory between the rivers Copiapó and Aconcagua, traditionally the Norte Chico refers to the zone comprising the regions of Atacama and Coquimbo. This region was home to the Diaguita people. Geography The near north (Norte Chico) extends from the southern border of the Atacama Desert to about 32° south latitude, or just north of Santiago. 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. The near north is a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zona Central, Chile
Central Chile (''Zona central'') is one of the five natural regions into which CORFO divided continental Chile in 1950. It is home to a majority of the Chilean population and includes the three largest metropolitan areas—Santiago, Valparaíso, and Concepción. It extends from 32° south latitude to 37° south latitude. Geography Central Chile is one of the five main geographical zones in which Chile is divided. The Chilean Central Valley lies between the coastal range ("Cordillera de la Costa") and the Andes Mountains. To the north is the semi-desert region known as El Norte Chico, (the "little north"), which lies between 28° and 32° south latitude. To the south lies the cooler and wetter Valdivian temperate rain forests ecoregion, in Los Lagos Region; (the latter includes most of South America's temperate rain forests). The Central valley is a fertile region and the agricultural heartland of Chile. Climate The climate is of the temperate Mediterranean type, with t ... [...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] |
Incahuasi
Incahuasi (; possibly from Quechua: ''inka'' Inca, ''wasi'' house) is a volcanic mountain in the Andes of South America. It lies on the border of the Catamarca Province of Argentina and the Atacama Region of Chile. Incahuasi has a summit elevation of above sea level. The volcano consists of a caldera and two stratovolcanoes. Four pyroclastic cones located to the northeast have produced basalt-andesite lava flows that cover an area of . Geography and geology Incahuasi lies on the border between Argentina and Chile, close to Paso San Francisco. A major road crosses the border there. Regional Incahuasi is part of the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes, together with about 110 other Quaternary volcanoes, and lies in the southern sector of this zone; other volcanic zones in the Andes are the Northern Volcanic Zone, the Southern Volcanic Zone, and the Austral Volcanic Zone. The history of volcanic activity of most of these volcanoes is poorly understood owing to the lack of dat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nevado Tres Cruces
Nevado Tres Cruces is a massif of volcanic origin in the Andes Mountains on the border of Argentina and Chile. It has two main summits, Tres Cruces Sur at and Tres Cruces Centro at and a third minor summit, Tres Cruces Norte . Tres Cruces Sur is the sixth highest mountain in the Andes. The volcano has an extended history of activity, going back at least 1.5 million years. A number of lava domes surround the complex and a number of craters lie on its summits. The main volcano is of rhyodacitic composition and has generated two major ignimbritic eruptions, one 1.5 million years ago and a second 67,000 years ago. The last eruption was 28,000 years ago, but the volcano is a candidate source for a Holocene eruption and could erupt again in the future. Geography and geomorphology Nevado Tres Cruces is located in the High Andes of Copiapo and straddles the boundary between Chile ( Atacama Region) and Argentina ( Catamarca Province). The Salar de Maricunga is located west of N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ojos Del Salado
Nevado Ojos del Salado is a dormant complex volcano in the Andes on the Argentina–Chile border. It is the highest volcano on Earth and the highest peak in Chile. The upper reaches of Ojos del Salado consist of several overlapping lava domes, lava flows and volcanic craters, with an only sparse ice cover. The complex extends over an area of and its highest summit reaches an altitude of above sea level. Numerous other volcanoes rise around Ojos del Salado. Due to its location near the Arid Diagonal of South America, the mountain has extremely dry conditions, which prevent the formation of glaciers and a permanent snow cover. Despite the arid climate, there is a permanent crater lake about in diameter at an elevation of - within the summit crater and east of the main summit. This is the highest lake of any kind in the world. Owing to its altitude and the desiccated climate, the mountain lacks vegetation. Ojos del Salado was volcanically active during the Pleistocene and Holo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Silla Observatory
La Silla Observatory is an astronomy, astronomical observatory in Chile with three telescopes built and operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). Several other telescopes are located at the site and are partly maintained by ESO. The observatory is one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere and was the first in Chile to be used by ESO. The La Silla telescopes and instruments are located 150 km northeast of La Serena, Chile, La Serena at the outskirts of the Chilean Atacama Desert, one of the driest and most remote areas of the world. Like other observatories in this geographical area, La Silla is located far from sources of light pollution and, like the Paranal Observatory, home to the Very Large Telescope, it has one of the darkest night skies on the Earth. History Following the decision in 1963 to approve Chile as the site for the ESO observatory, scouting parties were sent to various locations to assess their suitability. The site that was decided upon was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory
The Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) is an astronomical observatory located on Cerro Tololo in the Coquimbo Region of northern Chile, with additional facilities located on Cerro Pachón about to the southeast. It is approximately east of La Serena, where support facilities are located. The site was identified by a team of scientists from Chile and the United States in 1959, and it was selected in 1962. Construction began in 1963 and regular astronomical observations commenced in 1965. Construction of large buildings on Cerro Tololo ended with the completion of the Víctor Blanco Telescope in 1974, but smaller facilities have been built since then. Cerro Pachón is still under development, with two large telescopes (Gemini South and SOAR) inaugurated since 2000, and one in the early stages of construction (the Vera C. Rubin Observatory) The principal telescopes at CTIO are the 4 m Víctor M. Blanco Telescope, named after Puerto Rican astronomer Víctor Manuel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irrigation
Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been developed by many cultures around the world. Irrigation helps to grow crops, maintain landscapes, and revegetation, revegetate disturbed soils in dry areas and during times of below-average rainfall. In addition to these uses, irrigation is also employed to protect crops from frost, suppress weed growth in grain fields, and prevent soil consolidation. It is also used to cool livestock, reduce dust, dispose of sewage, and support mining operations. Drainage, which involves the removal of surface and sub-surface water from a given location, is often studied in conjunction with irrigation. There are several methods of irrigation that differ in how water is supplied to plants. Surface irrigation, also known as gravity irri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pisco
Pisco is a colorless or yellowish-to-amber colored brandy produced in winemaking regions of Peru and Chile. Made by distilling fermented grape juice into a high-proof spirit, it was developed by 16th-century Spanish settlers as an alternative to orujo, a pomace brandy that was being imported from Spain. It had the advantages of being produced from abundant domestically grown fruit and reducing the volume of alcoholic beverages transported to remote locations. Etymology The oldest use of the word ''pisco'' to denote Peruvian aguardiente dates from 1764. The beverage may have acquired its Quechua name from the Peruvian town of Pisco, once an important colonial port for the exportation of viticultural products,''Concise Oxford Dictionary'', 12th edition, 2012. which is located on the coast of Peru in the valley of Pisco, by the river with the same name."Pisco", ''Oxford English Dictionary''. second ed. 1989. From there, "Aguardiente de Pisco" was exported to Europe, especially Sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elqui Valley (wine Region)
The Elqui Valley is a wine region centered on Elqui River in northern Chile. The Elqui Valley Denomination of Origin (DO) is defined by the Chilean appellation system, the legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown. The region lies 400 km (250 mi) north of Santiago, at the southern end of the Atacama Desert in the Coquimbo region. It is known for producing table grapes and other fruits, as well as pisco brandy, Chile’s most popular liquor. It is considered the most commercially viable wine-producing region of northern Chile. The region’s vineyards extend from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Andes Mountains in the east, and rise to an elevation of 2,000 meters above sea level (6,500 feet). Wine production began in the Elqui Valley in the 1990s when Chilean wine producers began to look at potential viticulture sites outside the Chilean Central Valley. Since then, of vines have been planted, mostly al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bosque De Fray Jorge National Park
A bosque ( ) is a type of gallery forest habitat found along the riparian flood plains of stream and river banks in the southwestern United States. It derives its name from the Spanish word for 'woodlands'. Setting In the predominantly arid or semi-arid southwestern United States, a bosque is an oasis-like ribbon of green vegetation, often canopied, that only exists near rivers, streams, or other water courses. The most notable bosque is the -long ecosystem along the valley of the middle Rio Grande in New Mexico that extends from Santa Fe south to El Paso, Texas. One of the most famous and ecologically intact sections of the bosque is included in the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. Flora and fauna Common trees in the bosque habitat include mesquite, cottonwood, desert willow, and desert olive. Because there is often only a single canopy layer and because the tree species found in the bosque are generally deciduous, a wide variety of shrubs, grasses, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
