Chile vs. Argentina
Geography
| Chile | Argentina | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Southern South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Argentina and Peru | Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay |
| Geographic coordinates | 30 00 S, 71 00 W | 34 00 S, 64 00 W |
| Map references | South America | South America |
| Area | total: 756,102 sq km land: 743,812 sq km water: 12,290 sq km note: includes Easter Island (Isla de Pascua) and Isla Sala y Gomez | total: 2,780,400 sq km land: 2,736,690 sq km water: 43,710 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than twice the size of Montana | slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US |
| Land boundaries | total: 7,801 km border countries (3): Argentina 6691 km, Bolivia 942 km, Peru 168 km | total: 11,968 km border countries (5): Bolivia 942 km, Brazil 1263 km, Chile 6691 km, Paraguay 2531 km, Uruguay 541 km |
| Coastline | 6,435 km | 4,989 km |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200/350 nm | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
| Climate | temperate; desert in north; Mediterranean in central region; cool and damp in south | mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest |
| Terrain | low coastal mountains, fertile central valley, rugged Andes in east | rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western border |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Nevado Ojos del Salado 6,893 m (highest volcano in the world) lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m mean elevation: 1,871 m | highest point: Cerro Aconcagua (located in the northwestern corner of the province of Mendoza; highest point in South America) 6,962 m lowest point: Laguna del Carbon (located between Puerto San Julian and Comandante Luis Piedra Buena in the province of Santa Cruz) -105 m mean elevation: 595 m |
| Natural resources | copper, timber, iron ore, nitrates, precious metals, molybdenum, hydropower | fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium, arable land |
| Land use | agricultural land: 21.1% (2018 est.) arable land: 1.7% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.6% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 18.8% (2018 est.) forest: 21.9% (2018 est.) other: 57% (2018 est.) | agricultural land: 53.9% (2018 est.) arable land: 13.9% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.4% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 39.6% (2018 est.) forest: 10.7% (2018 est.) other: 35.4% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 11,100 sq km (2012) | 23,600 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | severe earthquakes; active volcanism; tsunamis volcanism: significant volcanic activity due to more than three-dozen active volcanoes along the Andes Mountains; Lascar (5,592 m), which last erupted in 2007, is the most active volcano in the northern Chilean Andes; Llaima (3,125 m) in central Chile, which last erupted in 2009, is another of the country's most active; Chaiten's 2008 eruption forced major evacuations; other notable historically active volcanoes include Cerro Hudson, Calbuco, Copahue, Guallatiri, Llullaillaco, Nevados de Chillan, Puyehue, San Pedro, and Villarrica; see note 2 under "Geography - note" | San Miguel de Tucuman and Mendoza areas in the Andes subject to earthquakes; pamperos are violent windstorms that can strike the pampas and northeast; heavy flooding in some areas volcanism: volcanic activity in the Andes Mountains along the Chilean border; Copahue (2,997 m) last erupted in 2000; other historically active volcanoes include Llullaillaco, Maipo, Planchon-Peteroa, San Jose, Tromen, Tupungatito, and Viedma |
| Environment - current issues | air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage; noise pollution; improper garbage disposal; soil degradation; widespread deforestation and mining threaten the environment; wildlife conservation | environmental problems (urban and rural) typical of an industrializing economy such as deforestation, soil degradation (erosion, salinization), desertification, air pollution, and water pollution |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
| Geography - note | note 1: the longest north-south trending country in the world, extending across 39 degrees of latitude; strategic location relative to sea lanes between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage) note 2: Chile is one of the countries along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; up to 90% of the world's earthquakes and some 75% of the world's volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire note 3: the Atacama Desert - the driest desert in the world - spreads across the northern part of the country; Ojos del Salado (6,893 m) in the Atacama Desert is the highest active volcano in the world, Chile's tallest mountain, and the second highest in the Western Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere - its small crater lake (at 6,390 m) is the world's highest lake | note 1: second-largest country in South America (after Brazil); strategic location relative to sea lanes between the South Atlantic and the South Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage); diverse geophysical landscapes range from tropical climates in the north to tundra in the far south; Cerro Aconcagua is the Western Hemisphere's tallest mountain, while Laguna del Carbon is the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere; shares Iguazu Falls, the world's largest waterfalls system, with Brazil note 2: southeast Bolivia and northwest Argentina seem to be the original development site for peanuts |
| Total renewable water resources | 923.06 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 876.24 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | 90% of the population is located in the middle third of the country around the capital of Santiago; the far north (anchored by the Atacama Desert) and the extreme south are relatively underpopulated | one-third of the population lives in Buenos Aires; pockets of agglomeration occur throughout the northern and central parts of the country; Patagonia to the south remains sparsely populated |
Source: CIA Factbook
