Chile vs. Bolivia
Geography
| Chile | Bolivia | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Southern South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Argentina and Peru | Central South America, southwest of Brazil |
| Geographic coordinates | 30 00 S, 71 00 W | 17 00 S, 65 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: 1,098,581 sq km land: 1,083,301 sq km water: 15,280 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than twice the size of Montana | slightly less than three times the size of Montana |
| Land boundaries | total: 7,801 km border countries (3): Argentina 6691 km, Bolivia 942 km, Peru 168 km | total: 7,252 km border countries (5): Argentina 942 km, Brazil 3403 km, Chile 942 km, Paraguay 753 km, Peru 1212 km |
| Coastline | 6,435 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200/350 nm | none (landlocked) |
| Climate | temperate; desert in north; Mediterranean in central region; cool and damp in south | varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid |
| Terrain | low coastal mountains, fertile central valley, rugged Andes in east | rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin |
| 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: Nevado Sajama 6,542 m lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m mean elevation: 1,192 m |
| Natural resources | copper, timber, iron ore, nitrates, precious metals, molybdenum, hydropower | tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower |
| 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: 34.3% (2018 est.) arable land: 3.6% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.2% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 30.5% (2018 est.) forest: 52.5% (2018 est.) other: 13.2% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 11,100 sq km (2012) | 3,000 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" | flooding in the northeast (March to April) volcanism: volcanic activity in Andes Mountains on the border with Chile; historically active volcanoes in this region are Irruputuncu (5,163 m), which last erupted in 1995, and the Olca-Paruma volcanic complex (5,762 m to 5,167 m) |
| 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 | the clearing of land for agricultural purposes and the international demand for tropical timber are contributing to deforestation; soil erosion from overgrazing and poor cultivation methods (including slash-and-burn agriculture); desertification; loss of biodiversity; industrial pollution of water supplies used for drinking and irrigation |
| 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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, 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: landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru note 2: the southern regions of Peru and the extreme northwestern part of Bolivia are considered to be the place of origin for the common potato, while 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.) | 574 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 | a high altitude plain in the west between two cordillera of the Andes, known as the Altiplano, is the focal area for most of the population; a dense settlement pattern is also found in and around the city of Santa Cruz, located on the eastern side of the Andes |
Source: CIA Factbook
