Geographical Survey of Chile
"Nature has been prodigal in the bestowal of her varied gifts upon Chile. Its geographical formation represents a huge serpent with its sinewy form stretched along the west coast of…
From: 1910 C.E. To: 1913 C.E.
Location: Santiago, Chile
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
From Progressive Chile by Robert E. Mansfield, 1913.
Geography
The Republic of Chile, beginning at latitude seventeen degrees, and extending to the farthest southern limits of South America, forms a narrow longitudinal strip of territory twenty-four hundred miles long, and not exceeding two hundred miles in width in the extreme. It has an area of 462,000 square miles, and a population of 3,500,000.
Nature has been prodigal in the bestowal of her varied gifts upon Chile. Its geographical formation represents a huge serpent with its sinewy form stretched along the west coast of the continent, its head resting in the arid desert of Atacama, and its tail coiled about the wood-crowned hills and ice-bound islands of Tierra del Fuego. Upon one side loom the Andes Mountains, their snow-capped heads in the clouds and their feet in the ocean; upon the other stretches the vast expanse of the Pacific.
Bordered as it is by the ocean on one side, and including within its limits a range of mountains reaching in some places an altitude of 24,000 feet, Chile presents a variety of geological, geographical and climatic conditions possessed by few countries in the world. Being isolated by great natural barriers it faces away from all the centers of population and ancient homes of civilization, and of all the countries of South America it occupies the most unfavorable position geographically, and is the most inaccessible from Europe, North America and the Far East.
But with all its isolation, its long struggle to gain a place among civilized nations, its history of cruel and uncivilized warfare, Chile possesses natural resources and attractions which intervening years have made known, and which in the short period of her national life have won for this long neglected daughter of the Spanish colonial family, a reputation for wealth and beauty that has given to it a fame as wide as the world.
Division of Territory
Chile is divided into four zones,—"Mineral," “Mineral and Agricultural," "Agricultural," and "Wooded and Fishing."
In the region of the "Mineral" or north zone, extending from the province of Coquimbo on the south to the extreme north of the Republic, rain is unknown; there is very little moisture and scarcely any water in the streams. As a result of the arid condition of this territory there is little spontaneous or cultivated vegetation, and no agricultural interests worthy of mention. But the five provinces comprising the zone abound in minerals, and form conjointly with the agricultural resources of other sections the productive wealth of Chile. Among the products of this section are nitrate of soda and guano in quantities sufficient to enrich the lands of the world; there are also deposits of gold, silver, copper, lead, quicksilver, zinc, bismuth, iron, manganese and borax.
The provinces of Tarapaca and Antofagasta comprise the great nitrate or saltpeter fields of South America, the richest and most extensive in the world. The province of Tarapaca was acquired from Peru, in the war with that country in 1879-81, and Antofagasta was Bolivian territory previous to the same war. Until recent years this arid region, designated as the pampa or ''desierto de Atacama," was considered non-productive and practically worthless. Now the products of nitrate of soda alone amount to over 100,000,000 Chilean pesos annually, and comprise two-thirds of the export business of the Republic. This mineral zone covers an area of 235,000 square miles and has a population of 355,000. The great mineral wealth of the country is not limited to this particular section, however, as gold and other minerals are found in a majority of the provinces in Chile, and mines are worked from Tarapaca to Tierra del Fuego.
It is within the limit of this zone that the once famous mines of Chanarcillo and Copiapo are located, from which has been taken millions of dollars worth of ore. But these and other silver mines, once productive, have practically ceased to yield, from the lack of application of modern mining methods, and the silver mining industry has greatly depreciated in Chile in the last decade. Gold mining is also less extensive than in former years, except in Tierra del Fuego, and the product has greatly decreased in the northern zone.
With the decrease in gold and silver mining in the Mineral zone has come increased interest in the production of copper, which now forms eighty percent, of the metal exports from Chile.
The Mineral and Agricultural zone may be defined as a section of semi-mountainous, sparsely watered country, extending north from Santiago, to the mineral zone. There are within the territory a number of small streams extending from the mountains to the sea, in the valleys of which are small farms, called "fundos." There are few towns of any consequence in that part of the country, no railways, few improved roads, and communication between the coast and interior is slow and difficult. Mule and burro trains are the common method of transportation, while more rapid communication is made on horseback.
The Agricultural, or central zone is the garden of Chile. It includes twelve provinces, extending from Aconcagua on the north to the river Bio Bio on the south, with an area of 75,000 square miles, and a population of 1,800,000. About eighty percent, of the people living in this zone are engaged either directly or indirectly in agricultural pursuits. In the northern part of this geographical division is Valparaiso, the most important commercial center in the Republic; in the center is Santiago, the beautiful capital city, and in the south, situated on the Bio Bio is Concepcion, the third city in population and importance in the country.
In this section there is a copious rainfall between the months of May and September, and consequently a prolific growth of vegetation. Between the mountain ranges and hills that crowd close down to the sea, are beautiful valleys, where wheat, maize, barley, flax, oats, rye, all kinds of fruits, vegetables, and a variety of grasses grow and mature well. From Santiago, extending several hundred miles south are wide fertile valleys, high and low table-lands, wonderfully productive and in a splendid state of cultivation.
This central valley of Chile, lying between the Andes and the coast range, is a continuous garden of luxuriant beauty. The cultivated loveliness of the private estates, which surround the capital, offer a pleasing contrast to the sterner grandeur of mountain forms and color with which it is enclosed. There are to be found the ideal South American haciendas, where thousands of acres are included in one domain, where the primitive system of cultivating the land, introduced by the Spaniards when they came to the western world, with few exceptions, still prevails.
There is the one storied castle-like residence of the proprietor, with its wide verandas, roomy corridors, rambling rooms and beautiful patio. The house is often surrounded by a magnificent garden and park, where graceful palms, beautiful trees and brilliant flowers in great variety grow and bloom the year round. There too, are vast herds of horses, cattle and other domestic animals, all fat and sleek from feeding upon the rich pasturage of irrigated "potreros" (fields). Farther south in this zone, the semi-tropical appearance of the northern regions give place to wood-crowned hills and streams fringed with forest trees. Rains are more frequent and the growth of vegetation more general and prolific. Vast farms extend in every direction. Stolid oxen, drawing primitive plows or carts, plod through fallow fields, and the mountains, which are always in sight, give up their solitude in scenes of domesticity and peaceful industry.
The wooded or southern zone, includes all the territory from the river Bio Bio, south to Cape Horn, and forms the least developed portion of Chile. In the southern provinces are vast virgin forests, rich in varied resources, awaiting commercial development. In some sections of the country the forests, overrun with creepers, are so dense that they form an almost impenetrable jungle, where the sunlight never penetrates, and where twilight lingers throughout the entire day. In these forests are various woods of excellent quality, including oak, cypress, lingue (the bark of which makes excellent tanning material), rauli, redwood, laurel, resin pine, poplar, and quillai, the bark of which is exported in large quantities, and is used as a mordant for dyeing.
Sawmills have been established in recent years, and are now in operation in the timber districts of southern Chile, but the lumber industry, which promises to become one of the important commercial interests of the country, is only in its infancy.
In fact the mills have so far made practically no impression upon the forests, their cuttings being limited to choice timber along the streams and water-ways where transportation facilities are good. In addition to the valuable timber interests and great agricultural resources of southern Chile, it possesses large deposits of coal, gold, iron ores, Portland cement, roofing slate and other minerals, awaiting development. On the plains and in the valleys luxuriant vegetation develops annually and remains to enrich the soil for the use of future generations. Unexplored hills and mountains, hoarding a wealth of minerals, await the ambitious prospector and industrious miner. In the sands of Tierra del Fuego is gold to gladden the hearts of men, and the forests contain material for lumber sufficient to supply the demands of the continent.
In this subdivision there are also extensive fisheries and oyster beds. Along the coast, rugged hills that reach down to the sea are covered with forest trees, and on the Cordilleras near the southern limits of the continent, vegetation extends up to an altitude where virgin snows and verdant green meet and mingle in strange contrast. In the mountain and forest solitudes of this undeveloped region, are many lakes, resting like emerald settings in the landscape. Viewed from the sea the scenery along the coast of southern Chile presents a picturesque appearance. The Andes Mountains, grand and imposing, form a splendid background for the verdant forests forming the shore line.
This range of mountains constitutes a conspicuous physical feature of the continent. To the south it crowds close upon the Pacific, and throughout the length of Chile the Cordilleras cover a double series of highly elevated summits enclosing longitudinal valleys within the region of perpetual snow. On the western range there are three smaller midland mountain chains called the ''Cordillera Maritima," running parallel with the Andean, between which are numerous well-watered valleys possessing a delightfully equable climate. From any of these valleys the giant peaks of the Andes, royally crowned and ermine robed are plainly visible. And. as the day-god rides over them, touching their white crests with fingers of gold, the scenes presented are wonderful in variety and spectacular effect.
Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego, instead of being a “Land of Desolation," as it is generally designated, is a land of picturesque scenes, and possesses natural resources to make it a country of prospective wealth, with a promising future. The archipelago includes hundreds of islands, some of which are rocky, mountainous, and barren, but most of them are covered with woods, and on some of the larger islands, especially that of Tierra del Fuego, are wide stretches of valley and plain, covered with rich grasses, affording splendid pasturage for sheep, cattle and horses.
There is some valuable timber on the islands, and placer gold mining is carried on to some extent at various places. The commercial importance of the archipelago depends, however, upon sheep raising, an industry that is rapidly developing, and one that is proving profitable. There have been established in recent years a number of large sheep ranches, called "estancias," on the island of Tierra del Fuego, and in Patagonia. Millions of sheep are pastured on the rich grasses that grow luxuriantly there, and the annual output of wool, mutton, and fat is an important commercial product of the country.
There are few more interesting and picturesque sights than those far southern farm lands in the Magellanes territory, the Scotland of South America. Long, sweeping, undulating downs climb upward to the forest-clad hills, or down to the edges of the blue glacial lakes; and through the mazes of black thorn, the bloom of which fills the air with fragrance in the flowering time, wander vast herds of sheep, often accompanied by large flocks of ostriches, which find safety in associating with the wool coated animals. Northward across the horizon, the castellated and unbroken outlines of innumerable mountains stretch their length across the landscape; while all around are sandstone hills, cliff-bored, and forest covered, and along the banks of turbulent streams, wild flowers bloom, giving a touch of brilliant coloring to the pastoral scene. It is beautiful in outline, detail and coloring, and in its infinite variety.
Mansfield, Robert E. Progressive Chile. The Neale Publishing Co. 1913.
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