Because Chile extends from a point about 625 kilometers north of the Tropic of Capricorn to a point hardly more than 1,400 kilometers north of the Antarctic Circle, within its territory can be found a broad selection of the Earth's climates.
In 1950, CORFO defined, following criteria of geographic and economic homogeneity, six regions in continental Chile: Norte Grande, Norte Chico, Núcleo Central, Concepción y La Frontera, Los Lagos and Los Canales.[1]
Although this territorial division was never used to define administrative entities (as the current Regions of Chile), the natural regions continue to be used for reference purposes.
Overview
These natural regions are ordered from north to south and reduced to five natural regions:[2]
Mediterranean climate and Matorral vegetation. The Andes is massive and high. Coast range and Andes lose height as they separate from each other to the south, fertile intermediate depression. Summer runoff of large rivers is heavily dependent on glacier and snowmelt.
Mediterranean climate, vegetation of the Chilean Matorral. The Intermediate Depression of central Chile extends from Santiago to the south as a fertile region and is considered the agricultural heartland of Chile. After the Destruction of Seven Cities (1598–1604), all major settlements within the colonial Captaincy General of Chile came to be confined in central Chile, excepting only La Serena and the Chiloé Archipelago.
^Geografía económica de Chile. Corporación de fomento de la producción. (CORFO) Fundación Pedro Aguirre Cerda. Varios Autores. Imprenta Universitaria. Santiago de Chile 1950
^Note that the correspondence between regions is approximate in general.
