Chile photos
Hi fellow travelers! Here you can contemplate the photos submitted by David Stybr from his travel to Chile. Enjoy!
As we approach Santiago, the Andes Mountains come into view. The Andes Mountains extend along most of the eastern border of Chile with Argentina.
CL-AND.JPG La Cordillera de los Andes, Chile y Argentina: Cerro Aconcagua.
The extinct volcano Cerro Aconcagua at 6960 meters (22,835 feet) is the highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere. It lies just across the border from Chile in Argentina.
British naturalist Charles Darwin wrote in August 1834: "Chile, as may be seen in the maps, is a narrow strip of land between the Cordillera de los Andes and the Pacific; and this strip is itself traversed by several mountain-lines, which in this part run parallel to the great range. Between these outer lines and the main Cordillera, a succession of level basins, generally opening into each other by narrow passages, extend far to the southward: in these, the principal towns are situated, as San Felipe, Santiago, San Fernando. These basins or plains, together with the transverse flat valleys which connect them with the coast, I have no doubt are the bottoms of ancient inlets and deep bays, such as at the present day intersect every part of Tierra del Fuego and the western coast."
"The appearance of the Andes was different from that which I had expected. The lower line of the snow was of course horizontal, and to this line the even summits of the range seemed quite parallel. Only at long intervals, a group of points or a single cone, showed where a volcano had existed, or does now exist. Hence the range resembled a great solid wall, surmounted here and there by a tower, and making a most perfect barrier to the country."
Santiago, Región Metropolitana, Chile. Population 4,500,000. Capital and largest city of Chile, founded 1541. Latitude 34°S, longitude 71°W (analogous to Atlanta, Georgia or Los Angeles, California at 34°N). Late December sunrise 6:29 AM, sunset 8:52 PM. Average temperatures 13-27°C (56-80°F).
Santiago, Región Metropolitana, is the capital and largest city of Chile, located in the fertile central valley of Chile. With a population of about 4.5 million the metropolitan area of Gran Santiago is home to nearly 1/3 of the national population. Santiago lies 543 meters (1781 feet) above sea level, 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the Pacific Ocean and 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the main ski centers of the Andes Mountains. Most of the political, economic, cultural, industrial and commercial activity of Chile are concentrated in and around the metropolitan area. Although Santiago is immense, Santiago Centro is relatively small and includes the site of the original settlement of 35 city blocks which were laid out around la Plaza de Armas on 12 February 1541 by Pedro de Valdivia. Among the most important buildings in modern Santiago is the presidential palace el Palacio de la Moneda, which was built in 1788-1805 as a royal mint. Other major sites include the central produce market el Mercado Central, the pedestrian mall el Paseo Ahumada and museums such as el Museo de Santiago, el Museo Histórico Nacional and el Museo Chilena de Arte Precolombino. Some of the best views of Santiago and the nearby Andes Mountains can be seen from atop 869-meter (2851-foot) Cerro San Cristóbal. Santiago is well served by the Metro subway, a clean and well-organized system.
CL-SCL1.JPG Santiago, Región Metropolitana, Chile: Panorama.
Cerro San Cristóbal provides fantastic views of the city and the nearby Andes Mountains to the east.
CL-SCL2.JPG Santiago, Región Metropolitana, Chile: La Plaza de la Constitución.
CL-SCL3.JPG Santiago, Región Metropolitana, Chile: El Palacio de la Moneda.
El Palacio de la Moneda (The Palace of La Moneda), viewed from la Plaza de la Constitución. Constructed 1774-1805 as La Real Casa de Moneda de Santiago (The Royal Mint of Santiago), in 1846 it became La Casa de Gobierno (Government House), and in 1951 it became a national monument.
CL-SCL4.JPG Santiago, Región Metropolitana, Chile: Avenida Kennedy.
The residential, diplomatic and shopping district of Avenida Kennedy, viewed from the Hyatt Regency.
CL-SCL5.JPG Santiago, Región Metropolitana, Chile: La Estación Central.
La Estación Central is the central railway station in Santiago, located on Avenida O'Higgins.
Valparaíso, Región de Valparaíso, Chile. Population 280,000. Principal seaport city of Chile, founded 1536. Latitude 33°S, longitude 72°W (analogous to Dallas, Texas or Charleston, South Carolina at 33°N). Late December sunrise 6:35 AM, sunset 8:58 PM. Average temperatures 15-27°C (59-80°F).
Valparaíso, Región de Valparaíso, was founded in 1536 and is the principal seaport city of Chile with a population of 280,000. It is on the southern end of la Bahía de Valparaíso (Valparaíso Bay) on the Pacific Ocean and is 120 kilometers northwest of Santiago. Built on a narrow strip of land between the bay and steep hills, the main streets run parallel to the shoreline. Central Valparaíso is a picturesque maze of narrow twisted streets overlooked by cliffs and hilltop suburbs. The business district in the narrow waterfront is connected by cable railways to residential areas on the surrounding slopes. The President of Chile lives and works in Santiago, but the Congreso now meets in Valparaíso. The Chilean Naval Headquarters is housed in an impressive Victorian building near the waterfront.
CL-VAP.JPG Valparaíso, Región de Valparaíso, Chile: Muelle Prat.
Bahía de Valparaíso (Valparaíso Bay). Muelle Prat (Prat Pier), the recently redeveloped pier, is a lively market area.
British naturalist Charles Darwin, July 1834: "The town is built at the very foot of a range of hills, about 1600 feet high, and rather steep. From its position, it consists of one long, straggling street, which runs parallel to the beach, and wherever a ravine comes down, the houses are piled up on each side of it. The rounded hills, being only partially protected by a very scanty vegetation, are worn into numberless little gullies, which expose a singularly bright red soil."
Puerto Montt, Región de los Lagos, Chile. Population 130,000. Founded by German immigrants 1853. Latitude 42°S, longitude 73°W (analogous to Chicago, Illinois; Erie, Pennsylvania; or Rome, Italy at 42°N). Late December sunrise 6:14 AM, sunset 9:25 PM. Average temperatures 10-16°C (50-61°F).
Puerto Montt, Región de los Lagos, has a population of 130,000 and is the southernmost city in the long central valley. It lies at the north of Reloncaví Sound in a setting that rivals Seattle and Vancouver for its natural beauty. It was founded primarily by German immigrants in 1853 in the heart of the Lake Region. The German heritage is still evident in its architecture with Alpine houses with decorative balconies. Its primary industry is fishing. Puerto Montt also serves as the gateway to the island of Chiloé, the southern lakes, fjords and Chilean Patagonia. Several important volcanoes are also nearby, including El Volcán Osorno. Many buildings in Puerto Montt have interesting wooden shingles called tejuelas on roofs and siding. This style was introduced by the original German settlers. The shingles are made of local alerce wood and laid in overlapping rows. Some have straight edges, some are curved, some are pointed, and the general texture looks almost like needlepoint. In the early 1900s Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid and Sundance's wife Etta Place managed a 30,000-hectare (12,000-acre) ranch in the Cholila Valley of Argentina, east across the Andes Mountains. They drove their cattle across the mountains into Chile to market and buy supplies in Chochamo on the Pacific Coast near Puerto Montt.
CL-PMT.JPG Puerto Montt, Región de los Lagos, Chile: Seno de Reloncaví.
Seno de Reloncaví (Reloncaví Sound). El Centro (City Center) on la Bahía de Puerto Montt (Puerto Montt Bay).
Southern Fjords, Región de Magallanes, Chile: Many people associated all of South America with the Amazon jungle and with tropical heat and humidity. However, southern Chile is a region of wondrous bays, fjords, glaciers and sometimes freezing cold temperatures. A cruise through the Chilean Inside Passage, the Beagle Channel and around Cape Horn rates with the Alaskan Inside Passage, the Norwegian fjords, Antarctica and southern New Zealand as some of the most beautiful scenery on Earth. Glaciers, fjords, icebergs, unusual wildlife and fishing villages provide an unforgettable experience.
El Campo de Hielo Patagónico (The Patagonian Ice Field) is the largest in South America, and the 3rd largest on Earth after Antarctica and Greenland. It includes the glaciers closest to the Equator, as close as 47°S latitude, compared to 57°N latitude in Alaska and 67°N latitude in Norway.
Seno Eyre (Eyre Sound) is in an stunning glacial valley dominated by beautiful snow-capped mountains. At the head of this fjord Glaciar Pio XI noisily calves icebergs which drift in the water. As the many icebergs and ice floes crack and melt, the air trapped inside is released and creates a loud chorus of snap-crackle-pop sounds often dubbed "Ice Krispies". Seno Amalia and Glaciar Amalia are smaller but no less spectacular. In extreme southern Chile, portions of el Canal Beagle (Beagle Channel) are known for high concentrations of ice fields, fjords, icebergs and active glaciers which flow down from mountains in southern Tierra del Fuego.
CL-DAR.JPG Canal Darwin, Región de Aisén, Chile.
Canal Darwin leads from Puerto Aisén through the archipelago to the Pacific Ocean.
CL-PIO.JPG Seno Eyre, Región de Magallanes, Chile: Glaciar Pio XI.
Glaciar Pio XI is the largest tidewater glacier in the Southern Hemisphere. It is at the head of el Seno Eyre (Eyre Sound). Glaciar Pio XI is 3.25 kilometers (2 miles) wide and 34 kilometers (21 miles) long.
CL-COR.JPG Estrecho de Magallanes, Región de Magallanes, Chile: Península Córdoba.
Punta Arenas, Región de Magallanes, Chile. Population 125,000. Southernmost city on Earth, founded 1848 on el Estrecho de Magellanes (Strait of Magellan). Latitude 53°S, longitude 71°W (analogous to Jasper, Alberta; Goose Bay, Newfoundland; or Dublin, Ireland at 53°N). Late December sunrise 5:14 AM, sunset 10:10 PM. Average temperatures 7-13°C (44-56°F).
Punta Arenas has a population of 125,000 and at 53°S latitude it is the southernmost city on Earth (much smaller and slightly more southerly Ushuaia in Argentina is the southernmost town). Early British explorers named the region Sandy Point, which was translated into Spanish as Punta Arenosa and later modified to Punta Arenas. The city is on la Península Brunswick near the southernmost tip of the South American continent on El Estrecho de Magallanes (the Strait of Magellan), which separates the continent from the island of Tierra del Fuego. Punta Arenas was founded in 1848 as a military and penal settlement, and has grown into a center for commerce, culture and society for the region. After 1875 wool production became highly successful and European immigrants, particularly British and Yugoslavian, flocked into the area. Punta Arenas was an important station for ships to replenish provisions and coal, until the completion of the Panamá Canal in 1920 severely reduced ship traffic through the Strait of Magellan. With steep red roofs, Punta Arenas resembles northern European towns. Its main industries are sheep, cattle, mining, fishing, natural gas and tourism. Punta Arenas is the best port for thousands of kilometers, so it attracts fishing ships from the South Atlantic Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, research and tourist ships from Antarctica, and much other traffic.
CL-PTA1.JPG Punta Arenas, Región de Magallanes, Chile: El Centro, Estrecho de Magallanes y Tierra del Fuego.
Panorama of el Centro (City Center) from el Cerro de la Cruz (The Mount of the Cross) toward the southeast. In the background is el Estrecho de Magallanes (the Strait of Magellan) and Tierra del Fuego.
CL-PTA2.JPG Punta Arenas, Región de Magallanes, Chile: La Plaza Muñoz Gamera.
El Centro (City Center). La Plaza Muñoz Gamera is full of huge, old trees, and in the center is the Monumento a Hernando de Magallanes (Monument to Ferdinand Magellan). The toes of one bronze indian are polished and shiny. Local legend states that everyone who touches these toes will return to Punta Arenas someday, so the statue is a favorite with tourists and locals.
CL-BGL.JPG Canal Beagle, Región de Magallanes, Chile.
Beagle Channel was named for the British ship HMS Beagle, which explored the region in 1832-34. Aboard was the naturalist Charles Darwin, who wrote of the Beagle Channel in January 1833: "This channel, which was discovered by Captain Fitz Roy during the last voyage, is a most remarkable feature in this, or indeed of any other country.... It is about one hundred and twenty miles long, with an average breadth, not subject to any very great variation, of about two miles; and is throughout the greater part so perfectly straight, that the view, bounded on each side by a line of mountains, gradually becomes indistinct in the long distance. It crosses the southern part of Tierra del Fuego in an east and west line, and in the middle is joined at right angles on the south side by an irregular channel, which has been called Murray Narrows."
CL-ROM.JPG Canal Beagle, Región de Magallanes, Chile: Glaciar Romanche.
Glaciar Romanche is the largest glacier in this group, and it has several arms which reach down from the mountains. This arm of Glaciar Romanche terminates in several small waterfalls. This is a cirque glacier, gradually retreating. The bare rock in this telephoto view shows the former extent of this glacier before it retreated. Just at this moment, part of the glacier calved and formed a new waterfall in the center of the photo for a few minutes. This was a spectacular coincidence!
CL-ITA.JPG Canal Beagle, Región de Magallanes, Chile: Glaciar Italia.
Glaciar Italia (Italy Glacier) is the only glacier in this group which still reaches tidewater.
Cabo de Hornos (Cape Horn), Región de Magallanes, Chile. Southernmost point in South America, on la Isla de Hornos. Latitude 56°S, longitude 67°W (analogous to Dawson Creek, British Columbia; Copenhagen, Denmark; or Moscow, Russia at 56°N). Late December sunrise 4:41 AM, sunset 10:14 PM. Average temperatures 5-10°C (40-50°F).
Cape Horn (Cabo de Hornos) at 56° south latitude and 67° west longitude is the southernmost point of South America, 400 kilometers (250 miles) southeast of Punta Arenas, Chile. Cape Horn is a steep, rugged, 425-meter- (1400-foot-) rock at the southern end of the Chilean island Isla de Hornos. It marks the confluence of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and is known for its strong currents and stormy climate. Temperatures fall as low as -30°C (-20°F) in the winter month of July and average about 10°C (50°F) in the summer month of January. Antarctica lies only 1000 kilometers (600 miles) to the south across Drake Passage.
British naturalist Charles Darwin wrote in December 1832: "Favoured to an uncommon degree by a fine easterly breeze, we closed in with the Barnevelts, and running past Cape Deceit with its stony peaks, about three o'clock doubled the weather-beaten Cape Horn. The evening was calm and we enjoyed a fine view of the surrounding isles. Cape Horn, however, demanded his tribute, and before night sent us a gale of wind directly in our teeth. We stood out to sea, and on the second day again made the land, when we saw on our weather-bow this notorious promontory in its proper form -- veiled in a mist, and its dim outline surrounded by a storm of wind and water. Great black clouds were rolling across the heavens, and squalls of rain, with hail, swept by us with such extreme violence."
CL-CDH1.JPG Cabo de Hornos, Región de Magallanes, Chile.
CL-CDH2.JPG Cabo de Hornos, Región de Magallanes, Chile.
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