Why does Chile often have earthquakes? Nature of Chile

Increasingly, natural disasters become the subject of discussions and news. Cities and people affected by hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and even tornadoes appear regularly on the front pages of printed publications. Alas! This is a harsh reality. One of these countries, which is characterized by unstable seismic activity, is Chile. More details about this country, and also about why earthquakes often occur in Chile, we will tell in this article.

Location of the country within the world platform

Chile is an amazing country, rich in its nature and wildlife. If you look at it from a huge height, you can see its similarity with a long and narrow strip stretching along the entire Pacific coast in the direction from north to south. On the south side of Chile, you can see a variety of islands, the largest among which is Tierra del Fuego.

From the north the country borders with the Republic of Peru, from the north-eastern direction - with Bolivia, in the east - with Argentina. And if there was no Drake Strait, the territory of the state necessarily affected the rebellious Antarctica. Here is the amazing place where Chile is.

Islands and territory of Chile

The total area of the state is 756,102 km ², of which about 98.4% fall on land and 1.6% - water, and the coastline stretches for 6,435 km. According to its dimensions, Chile is on the 38th place. For comparison: it is 22.5 times less than Russia, but much more than many European countries, for example, exceeds the French area by 1.38 times, Ukraine - by 1.25 times.

Chile is a country that includes several large and small islands. Among them are Easter Island, Rapa Nui, Juan Fernandez, San Ambrosio, Diego Ramirez, San Felix, Sala y Gómez, and the Chonos Archipelago and others.

The largest cities of the state

Among the largest cities in Chile can be identified as follows:

• Puente Alto.
• Antofagasta.
• Viña del Mar.
• Valparaiso.
• San Bernardo and others.

The capital of the Republic is the large city of Santiago. Next, we will talk about why earthquakes often occur in Chile.

All the charms of the country's relief

Chile is located in the southern and central part of the picturesque Andes. It is interesting that it is in this region that the largest high-altitude drop in the world is observed. For example, here is the highest point of the state - the mountain with the unusual name of Ojos del Salado, which translates as "salty eyes". The height of its peak is about 6,893 m. In the region of the coastline of the country, the lowest point of the republic, called the Atakam depression, whose depth is equal to 8180 m,

Chile is a country with an amazing relief, in which three longitudinal major belts are distinctly prominent: the Coastal and Main Cordillera of the Andes, and also the Longitudinal Valley.

Splendor of the Chilean climate: temperature, wind, precipitation

Chile is an unusual place, where several varieties of climate are perfectly combined. Thus, in the northern part of the country it is hot as in the tropics, in the south there is a temperate-oceanic climate, and closer to the Antarctic - Antarctic and subantarctic. In addition, as the distance from the coast to the east to the mountains, the continentality of the climate increases and the humidity decreases drastically: the air becomes dry and complicates breathing.

Throughout the year, here falls from 50 to 1000 mm (on mountain slopes up to 3,000 mm) of precipitation, which is why on the coast often there are zones with poor visibility. The most rainy month, during which time up to 200 mm of precipitation falls, is July. At this time, the state of South America temporarily turns into a foggy Albion and suffers from excessive humidity.

The average temperature in the south of the country is +3 ° С to +16 ° С, and in the north +12 ° С to +22 ° С. And the coast is much colder than at the foot of the mountain hills. According to experts, this temperature phenomenon is associated with the proximity of two major currents: Humboldt and the Western winds.

Unusual natural area - Patagonia

Patagonia - a kind of savannah, or steppe, located in one of the most environmentally friendly regions of the planet. It's just a paradise for tourists, as at every step you can meet unusually clean blue lakes with clear water. And next to it is the opportunity to rent rods and other equipment for perfect fishing, as other cities of Chile are famous for.

Patagonia is a dream for fans of outdoor activities. In addition to hiking, connoisseurs of scenic landscapes can descend on a boat along fast and turbulent mountain rivers. For a perfect photo shoot, it makes sense to visit the Torres del Pine National Park, where you can capture graceful flamingos, nandu, condors, guanacos, foxes and pumas.

Dumbfounded fjords

Another unusual place in Chile is the fjords, which in due time arose due to the accumulation along the southern coast of the state of glaciers. It is believed that many years ago these ice covered all the cities of Chile and the remaining territory of the modern state.

At the moment, the fjords are a huge cluster of glaciers and boulders, which partially protrude from under the covers of water. In some places, one can see holistic continental glaciers, and within the lagoon of San Rafael see the very process of iceberg formation and sending them to a large voyage down the ocean.

The most mysterious Atacama Desert

Against the background of tropical plants and mountains, the Atacama Desert looks very unusual and even mysterious. It is in the north of the state. Unlike other landscape objects of Chile - Atacama resembles a flower that can blossom only during the rain and wither under the rays of the merciless sun. This is the unpredictable and multifaceted nature of Chile.

According to experts, precipitation here is extremely rare, and sometimes the life-giving rain of the scarce vegetation has to wait for years. Therefore, Atakamu is rightly called the most arid desert in the world.

Due to the dry climate, about 160 varieties of cacti grow in the desert, in the shade of which reptiles and reptiles love to hide. The largest desert inhabitants are unpretentious eating llamas. About why the earthquakes often occur in Chile, we will tell further.

What is the reason for the country's seismic activity?

It's no secret that Chileans suffer from frequent earthquakes, and even tsunamis. So, in May 1960, it was here that one of the largest earthquakes was recorded, the force of which was about 9.3-9.5 points. What is the reason for such a rapidly growing seismic activity?

According to experts, there are several reasons for earthquakes. Firstly, this enchanting place, where Chile is located, is replete with a large number of aboveground and underwater volcanoes. And almost all of them are active, therefore, these are original bombs with a clock mechanism, which at any time can explode.

For example, in Chile is the volcano Villarrica, the eruption of which occurred about 50 years ago. At the moment it does not carry danger and is a favorite place for visiting tourists.

Besides him, the following volcanoes of Chile also operate in the republic:

• Parinacota.
• Lycanthabur.
• Gualatiri.
• Osorno.
• Irruputunka.
• Ojos del Salado and others.

It is interesting that volcanoes can wake up at any moment. So, in April of last year, the Calbuco volcano erupted thrice within one week. As a result of this incident, around 210 million m³ of ash was thrown into the air, and over 6,000 people were evacuated.

The second reason why earthquakes often occur in Chile is hidden in the very location of the republic. In this case, it is located on the Pacific coast in western South America. According to experts, this is where the unique joint of tectonic plates is located. And on one side of the ocean is the Nazca plate, and on the other (the continental zone) - South American, which is floating on its "neighbor plate".

During these invisible movements of the eye and there are tremors. They are insignificant, but sometimes lead to horrific consequences.

The third reason is the neighborhood of Chile (earthquake, tsunami, volcanic eruption - all these photos are in our article) by the Peruvian-Chilean deep-sea trench, which is submerged under the continent itself. For the same reason, most epicenters of earthquakes are at a depth of 100 to 300 km along the entire surface hanging over the gutter. For example, in 2010 there was a terrible earthquake, the epicenter of which was deep in the ocean. At that time, strong underwater shocks led to the emergence of a tsunami that virtually erased several coastal cities from the face of the earth.

In a word, Chile is an unusual and mysterious corner of the globe with extremely unstable seismic activity.