Chile is only 265 miles (427 km) wide at its widest point.
The country, on the Pacific coast of South America, is more than 10 times as long as it is wide.
Its southern tip is Tierra del Fuego, an archipelago (a large group of islands) south of the Strait of Magellan that it shares with Argentina.
Chile is situated within the Pacific Ring of Fire, and has a remarkable variety of landscapes.
The Atacama Desert is a feature of northern Chile and southern Chile is rich in forests, grazing lands, volcanoes and lakes.
Chile’s population in 2002 was 15 million, and around 85% of the country’s population lives in urban areas.
