Look at a map of South America and one country jumps out straight away. Chile runs down the west coast like a long ribbon — it just keeps going, and going, and going! Why is this country so incredibly long and thin?
The Amazing Numbers
Chile stretches about 4,270 kilometres from north to south — that is like driving from one end of Europe to the other. But on average it is only about 177 kilometres wide. At its narrowest point, it is just 64 kilometres across. No other country on Earth is shaped quite like this.
Squeezed From Both Sides
The shape comes from a giant squeeze. In the east, the huge Andes mountains wall the country in — some of the tallest mountains in the world outside Asia. In the west, the endless Pacific Ocean presses in. Chile is the thin strip of land trapped between the mountains and the sea.
Life in the Middle
Because of that squeeze, people settled in the fertile Central Valley in the middle of the country, where the land is good for farming and the weather is gentle. Most Chileans still live there today, around the capital city, Santiago.
Stretching North and South
Then Chile stretched even further. In the north it grew into the Atacama Desert — the driest desert on Earth — after the War of the Pacific in the 1800s. In the south it reached down into wild, cold Patagonia, almost to the bottom of the world.
A Coastline With a Country Attached
So Chile is not really shaped like a normal country at all. With thousands of kilometres of coast and hardly any width, it is best described the funny way: a coastline... with a country attached!
Watch the video: Why Is Chile So Long and Thin? on YouTube. This article is the full written version of the video, in simple English. See all articles on the Blogs page and more videos on the Science & Tech page.