Size and Hydrological Features of Chile - Research Paper Example

At regular intervals, the Andes region is witnessing a low range of earthquakes which may even happen 12 times in a period of 30 days. From 1570 onwards, the South American Tectonic Plateau witnessed more than 100 major, severe earthquakes with more than 7 or higher. A 7.8 magnitude earthquake happened in Tarapaca, which was felt in faraway places like Brazil & Santiago(Encyclopedia.com 2014). The mountains that rise from the sea along the majority of the coastal region in Chile have different heights, starting from 300m to topping up to 2100m.

There have been deep gorge alike valleys in the extreme north of Chile where the coastal mountains align with the Andean spurs. In the south, the coastal range and the valleys nose-dive into the sea and transform into Western Archipelago(Encyclopedia.com 2014). There has been an irregular alluvial plain running up to 965 km long and having a width of 73 km in the central valley. The central valley starts below the dry of the Atacama Desert in the north and finishes at Puerto Montt in the south.

The regions between Bio-Bio and Aconcagua rivers are fertile in nature where agricultural activities are being carried over. Even though there are about 30 rivers that flow from the Andes and mix in the Pacific, the great waterfalls and cascades in their passages severely restrict navigation through these rivers. However, navigation is carried through the sea as the entire nation is covered by the sea coast, enabling navigation to the various parts of the narrow nation(Encyclopedia.com 2014).

Central Chile is situated in 320 -350S, which is a mountainous region. This mountainous region is a densely populated strip of land between Andes' main divide and the South American Pacific Coast and 5000m in height. As per Houze (1993), due to the high-altitude and complex topography of Central Chile, which includes both coastal and central basin mountain range and the beautiful Andes Cordillera, orographic precipitation processes may offer a strong control over local rainfall patterns.