As stated in earlier posts, Chile exhibits a diversified landscape and climates as the land stretches in a latitudinal direction. In particular, the coastal landscapes can reveal not only the present conditions, but also offer clues to future transformations in the landscape. Currently, Chilean coasts vary in relation to their differing landscapes: Arid in the north, tropical in the central region, and glacial in the south. Below, the contrast can be seen in pictures. Though these portions of coast may look different in appearance, the entire coast shares an overall predicted destiny. As examined before, Chile lies along a convergent boundary which has resulted in the formation of volcanoes and the Cordillera de la Costa mountain range. This oceanic plate is currently converging with the continental plate. Over time, this boundary can be predicted to create more of a mountainous coastline as more mountains and volcanoes are formed. Due to Chile’s slim territory, thousands of years from now can result in Chile’s entire territory being engulfed with Mountains. Most of Chile’s population lives in a valley, with the Cordillera de la Costa mountain range to the west, outlining the coast, and the Andes mountains to the east, outlining the border shared with Argentina. The Atacama Desert will be isolated from the ocean’s influence by the mountain range that develops, and therefore may maintain its dry state. In the southern half, where most of the glaciers are found, the process of glaciers ablating (shrinking) and accumulating over time will continue. Since the Earth is currently in an ice age, the glaciers by the coast may ablate thousands of years from now as the ice age ends. As part of Chile’s territory, there is a myriad of islands off its coast, that with time, will eventually become a part of the mainland as the process of convergent brings the two tectonic plates together. 

 

Southern Chilean Coast

Central Chilean Coast

 

Northern Chilean Coast

 

 

http://geography.howstuffworks.com/south-america/geography-of-chile1.htm

http://www.ucar.edu/communications/quarterly/fall08/pacific.jsp

htt

http://goodnature.nathab.com/protect-patagonia-eat-sustainable-wild-salmon/

p://www.destination360.com/south-america/chile/beaches

"World Tectonics." National Geographic: Atlas of the World. 1999.

 

 

 

Chile exhibits a variety of climates, as its geographical position is more longitudinal in nature.  Due to this fact, Chile’s climate has simply been divided into sections: Northern, Central, and Southern.  In the North, the climate tends to be more dry and arid as can be seen in the photo below of the Atacama Desert. 

In central Chile, the climate tends to be more tropical, and in the southern regions much colder due to close proximity to Anarctica.

Central Chile

 

 

Northern Chile 

 

 

Southern Chile

 

Being that Chile's land territory stretches in a longitudinal direction, the concept of angle of incidence can also be applied.  The sun's rays radiate at a degree less than 90 degrees as the earth rotates.  This results in temperatures that are below 90 degree Fehrenheit year round, averaging between 30 to mid 80's fehrenheit.

 

The seasons are reversed in the Southern Hemisphere causing Chile to have Summer in December through February; Fall in March through May; Winter in  June through August and Spring in September through November.

 

With the Andes Mountains stretching the length of Chile, the altitude is higher in those regions regardless of the regions mentioned above. 

 

 

https://rauman.wikispaces.com/Geography+of+Chile

http://mackandkinginchile.blogspot.com/2012/06/budget-travel-bucket-list.html#!/2012/06/budget-travel-bucket-list.html

http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/MEMBGNewsletter/Volume5number4/cTX.html

  http://www.worldtravelguide.net/chile/weather-climate-geography

http://clasfaculty.ucdenver.edu/callen/1202/Climate/EarthTempClim/climatezones.jpg

 

 

 

 

Chile displays examples of rock weathering and erosion throughout its landscape.  The iconic archway, La Portada, is a rock form surrounded by ocean, located in Chilean territory.  The photo below provides a visual of the archway and the multiple weathering processes that have affected its appearance over the years. Mechanical weathering has occurred through waves crashing into the sides of the rock repeatedly, gradually causing small pieces of rock to fall away from the main form.  The salt within the water has aided in this physical process.  The two color tones (charcoal color close to the bottom of the form and the white on top) can indicate that the charcoal-colored rock is a weathering rind (a color change due to weathering) if in fact the white rock is the true color.  If not, the white color could be salt residue due to the large amount of salt that is present in the water when it hits the rock. 

                                                       La Portada Archway in Chilean Territory

A more hydrated region of the Atacama Desert is the National Flamenco Reservation, shown below.   As part of the O Horizon, (the outermost horizontal layer of soil on the earth’s surface), the water reserve is an ecosystem where the water can be classified as capillary water, the type of water that is essential for vegetation to grow.  There’s evidence of soil erosion in how the small peninsulas of land are reaching across the water way; the entire area pictured was once a dry surface without water.  The small land mass could be the remnant of the land that was once there.  To further this assumption, there are moderately sized white chunks of rock in the water way that suggest weathering and erosion of a larger rock form that once existed in the area.  The smaller pieces of rock in the photo could have detached through weathering and then were transported by erosion.

                                                  National Flamenco Reservation, Chile

 

References:

http://traveltips.usatoday.com/attractions-antofagasta-chile-104232.html

http://www.southamerica.cl/Chile/Antofagasta.htm

http://wanderingtrader.com/travel-photos/pictures-of-chile/salar-de-tara-atacama-desert-chile/

 

 

          Chile’s location is significant to its active landscape that is lined with volcanoes and mountains, both results of its parallel position with a convergent boundary.  The west coast of chile shares the border with the Ring of Fire and reveals a possible evolution for the Andes Mountain Range.  As the map above shows, the Andes in the Chile territory lie between two convergent boundaries (represented by two, thin, yellow lines) suggesting the way in which they were formed over time.  As the plates converge, the many volcanoes and the mountains themselves in the region are evidence of this process (The Red triangles representing volcanic eruptions and yellow circles representing as known earthquakes that have occurred).  Chile lies between the Nazca and South American Plates, where the Nazca plate is sliding under the South American Plate, creating the process of subduction.

 

          By observing the next picture below, one can predict that the phenomenon called  Graban has occurred, as a lake has formed in between a the section of the Andes mountain range.  There's a possibility that the mountain range sunk down and created a valley.  From this perspective, it can be seen as a divergent boundary, but this assumption may be flawed if Chile is in between two converging boundaries as a whole. 

 

 

References:

 

Siebert, L., Simkin, T., and Kimberly, P., 2010, Volcanoes of the World, 3rd ed. Berkeley: University of California Press, 568 p. http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/region.cfm?rnum=1507

Munoz PhD., Andres Moreira. "The Extravagant Physical Geography of Chile." Trans.     

 Array Plant and Vegetation:Plant Geography of Chile. vol. 5 Springer Netherlands, 2011. 3-45. Web. 31 Jan. 2013.

      http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange1/current/lectures/evolving_earth/evolving_earth.html

"World Tectonics." National Geographic: Atlas of the World. 1999.

 

 

This blog was created by Melina Chacon for Physical Geography GEOG 1202.

Introduction

 Allow me to introduce myself and my blog. My name is Melina Chacon, and I’m currently studying business administration with emphasis in finance/risk management insurance at CU Denver’s Business School.  In addition, my minors include ethnic studies and law studies. 

I have decided to focus my blog on the country of Chile in South America and its ever-evolving physical geography.  There are several reasons I chose this region for observation and analysis.   Throughout my academic career at CU Denver, I have noticed  that issues concerning South America are mentioned with minimal attention in classes covering global issues. Most of these classes focus on political, social and economic issues within Asia, the Middle East and Europe.  South America, the one continent closest in proximity to the United States, is usually not acknowledged with as much importance as other continents.  For this reason, I see this as an opportunity to learn more about South America in a more focused, scientific approach while analyzing Chile’s physical geography.

 

 

From a glance, Chile is an elongated country that runs along the majority of South America’s west coast.  Chile’s geographical location allows the country to experience many different weather patterns and geographical structures. Its physical geography includes the Andes mountain range, volcanoes, beaches, ice fields and even a desert in the northern half.  I have chosen Chile not only for its diverse climate and physical geography, but also how these features have affected indigenous populations who have lived on the land for thousands of years.  As a future world traveler, I will be better informed of yet another country in South America where I plan to travel someday.    

References:
Munoz PhD., Andres Moreira. "The Extravagant Physical Geography of Chile." Trans.        
            Array Plant and Vegetation:Plant Geography of Chile. vol. 5 Springer Netherlands, 2011. 3-            45. Web. 31 Jan. 2013.
            http://0-link.springer.com.skyline.ucdenver.edu/chapter/10.1007/978-90-481-8748-
            5_1?LI=true>.

Photos (from top to bottom):
https://rauman.wikispaces.com/Geography+of+Chile
http://www.destination360.com/south-america/chile