The Argentina–Chile border is the longest international

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

and the third longest in the world after the

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

and the

Kazakhstan–Russia border The Kazakhstan–Russia border is the international border between the Kazakhstan, Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russia, Russian Federation. It is the longest continuous international border in the world and the second longest by total length, ...

. With a length of , it separates

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

from

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

along the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

and on the islands of

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South America, South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main is ...

. However, there are some border disputes, particularly around the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. It is the largest border of the two countries, beating the Argentina–Paraguay and Chile–Bolivia, Argentina's and Chile's second largest borders, respectively.

Description

The northern end of the border is a

tripoint A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...

it forms with those at the

Argentina–Bolivia border The Argentina–Bolivia border is the international boundary between Argentina and Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geogr ...

and the Bolivia-Chile border in the arid

Puna de Atacama The Puna de Atacama or Atacama Plateau''Atacama Plateau''
article at the ''Encyclopædia Bri ...

plateau. The border extends south until reaching the sea at the same place the

Strait of Magellan The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and the Tierra del Fuego archipelago to the south. Considered the most important natura ...

meets the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. Further south the border on the

Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego ( English: ''Big Island of the Land of Fire'') also formerly ''Isla de Xátiva'' is an island near the southern tip of South America from which it is separated by the Strait of Magellan. The western portion (61. ...

follows a meridian separating the island into two. This boundary reaches the sea at

Beagle Channel Beagle Channel (; Yahgan language, Yahgan: ''Onašaga'') is a strait in the Tierra del Fuego, Tierra del Fuego Archipelago, on the extreme southern tip of South America between Chile and Argentina. The channel separates the larger main island of I ...

a few kilometers southwest of

Ushuaia Ushuaia ( , ) is the capital city, capital of Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina, Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur Province, Argentina. With a population of 82,615 and a location below the 54th parallel south latitude, U ...

. In November 1984 the southern border area was finally established after long negotiations and mediation of

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

by the Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1984 between Chile and Argentina, a perpetual treaty, signed at the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

by representatives of both countries. On 16 December 1998, an agreement between Argentina and Chile was signed to redefine the border line from Mount Fitz Roy and Mount Daudet and finish with the historical dispute. However both countries didn't agree in the section between Mount Fitz Roy and Mount Murallón, and the border is still pending to be defined. Only Chile shows this on the cartography, while Argentina shows its pre-1998 claim, not following the new border between Murallón and Daudet from the agreement, nor indicating the pending section. The territorial claims of Argentina and Chile over Antarctica partially overlap with each other. Chile claims for itself the Chilean Antarctic Territory, which is included in the Region of Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica, while Argentina claims Argentine Antarctica, whose territory is part of the Province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and South Atlantic Islands. Both countries recognize each other's territories that do not overlap with their own as stipulated in the protocols of 1947, 1948, 1964, 1971 and 1978. Both countries have areas reachable by road only through the other country.

Magallanes Region The Magallanes Region (), officially the Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region () or Magallanes and the Chilean Antarctica Region in English, is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. It is the southernmost, largest, and sec ...

in Chile requires an around 1400 km drive through Argentina if driving from the more northern parts of Chile.

of Argentina requires 220 km drive through Chile from nearest other part of Argentina. File:Argentina Chile Locator.svg, Location of

(green) and

(orange) File:HITO XXIV.jpg, Marker (hito XXIV) in Tierra del Fuego. File:Overlapping Antarctic land claims (focusing on Argentina, Chile, & UK).pdf, The overlapping claims to

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

of Argentina and Chile:

Argentine Antarctica Argentine Antarctica ( or ) is an area on Antarctica claimed by Argentina as part of its national territory. It consists of the Antarctic Peninsula and a triangular section extending to the South Pole, delimited by the 25th meridian west, 25 ...

and the

Chilean Antarctic Territory The Chilean Antarctic Territory, or Chilean Antarctica (, ), is a part of West Antarctica and nearby islands claimed by Chile. It comprises the region south of 60th parallel south, 60°S latitude and between longitudes 53rd meridian west, 53°W a ...

, both overlapping the UK's British Antarctic Territory.

Dispute over the extended continental shelf

References

External links

*
" Y Cronología REFERENCIAS GENERAL SOBRE LOS Acuerdos Y Tratados bordering SUSCRITOS POR ARGENTINA Y CHILE (1820-1998) '"
on the site '' soberaniachile.cl '
'' The Argentine-Chilean border '"
on the site' 'persee.fr' {{DEFAULTSORT:Argentina-Chile border Borders of Argentina Borders of Chile International borders

Description

Dispute over the extended continental shelf

See also

References

External links