CHILE
The country of Chile in South America is noted for its diversity. In the north is one of the driest areas in the world the Atacama Desert which contains places where rainfall has never been recorded. In the far south lies the extremely rainy Strait of Magellan. Middle Chile is a transition zone between the desert north and the rainy south. The land also varies. The relatively flat valley floors of middle Chile give way to the towering Andes Mountains to the east and the Coastal Ranges on the west. The country lacks an extensive plain bordering the Pacific Ocean; generally the coastal mountains plunge directly to the sea. Geographically and economically the country can be divided into three major regions: the mineral-producing northern desert; central Chile, the economic, political, and agricultural core of the nation; and the wet, sparsely settled southern third, where sheep raising is the major activity.
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