Social Studies

Cluster 4: Human Impact in Europe or the Americas

1. Where is Chile located? Chile is a long

narrow country on the west coast of South
America. The entire west coast of Chile borders
the Pacific Ocean. Chile is wedged between the
Pacific Ocean and the Andes Mountains to the
east. The countries that border Chile are
Argentina to the east, Bolivia to the northeast and
Peru to the north. Chile stretches over 4630 km
from north to south but only 430 km at its widest
point from east to west.
2. What is Chiles geography like? Chile's
geography is incredibly varied. In the north is the
Atacama Desert, which is the driest in the world;
to the west is the Pacific Ocean; the East is
bordered by the Andes mountain range with
peaks that border 7000m; and to the South you
can find the Sea of Drake and the Antarctic.

www.nathanward.com

3. What is Chiles climate like? Because Chiles

geology.com
geography is so varied, its climate is also very different in
different parts
of the country. The northern part of Chile is very dry
where the average
annual rainfall is only 0.04 inches. Central Chile, around Santiago, gets approximately 15
inches of rain each year. The southern region of Chile is cool and rainy all year round.
This area gets an average of 119 inches of precipitation each year. The temperatures in
Chile are much less extreme than in Manitoba. The warmest months in Chile are January
and February. The coldest month is July. The average temperatures in the north vary from
15C to 22C. The temperatures in the south are cooler where the average monthly
temperatures range from 5C to 14C.
The climate of Chile is also greatly affected by the fact that the elevation in Chile varies
from sea level along the coast to altitudes of over 20 000 feet in the Andes Mountains.
Some areas in the Andes Mountains have snow all year-round.

Student Notes
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Social Studies
Cluster 4: Human Impact in Europe or the Americas
4. What are the major cities in Chile? The capital and main city of Chile is Santiago. A
little over 16.4 million people lived in Chile according to a 2006 census. About 40% of
these people live in or very close to Santiago. In the whole
country about 85% live in urban areas. After Santiago, the next
largest city is Concepcion with a population of about 330 000.
Many smaller cities in Chile are port cities on the coast and serve
as stops for water travel. Many of the remaining cities are located
along Pan America Route 5, a major inland highway.
www.ifmsa.org

5. Why is Chile so urbanized? Chile is the most urbanized

country in South America. Chiles extreme borders, both in the south and the north, are
sparsely populated because of harsh conditions there. Most include unused land, national
parks and protected wildlife areas. Before the middle of the nineteenth century, Chiles
cities were small. Then some immigrants from other countries moved to the cities. When
this happened, great numbers of people from the Chilean countryside decided to move to
the cities as well. Improved transportation and communication in the second half of the
nineteenth century made it easier for people to move to and live in the cities. In the late
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, different industries were formed and these also
attracted more people to the cities.
6. What is sustainability? Sustainability is how we demonstrate our
responsibility for people, the planet and for future generations. It is
important that we make decisions today that balance the needs of
today without sacrificing the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs.
www.waikato.govt.nz

7. Has human activity affected the natural

environment of Chile? Some human
activity has greatly harmed the natural
environment of Chile. Chiles native forests
include the worlds second largest expanse
of temperate rainforest. More than onequarter of the worlds remaining temperate
rainforests are in Chile. These forests
www.forestethics.org
provide a habitat for species such as the pudu
which is the worlds smallest deer and for
alerce trees which have a lifespan of more than 3000 years. Unfortunately, some forests
are endangered because of the demand for Chilean wood. Many large industries,
including some from the United States, have cut down so much of the rainforests in order
to get a supply of wood, that parts of these forests are endangered. Many communities
have suffered as a result of their areas being targeted for forestry. Fortunately, the
government of Chile has made some decisions to help protect some of its remaining
forests.
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Social Studies
Cluster 4: Human Impact in Europe or the Americas

www.noalamina.org

Another threat to sustainability in Chile is centered

around the Pascua Lama gold-mining project in
northern Chile. This project threatens one of the
richest farming valleys in the region of Coquimbo,
which is also the area in the country most heavily
affected by harsh desert conditions.
Canada's Barrick Gold Corporation, the world's
largest gold producer, owns the mining rights for
Pascua Lama, 75 percent of which lies on the
Chilean side of the border. The mining giant's plan
is to extract 615,000 ounces of gold, 30 million
ounces of silver and 5,000 tons of copper annually
over 17 years. However, the deposits lie under
three Andean glaciers.

The glaciers, located 4,600 metres above sea level, are a major source of water for
Huasco valley. Located 660 km north of Santiago, this valley is home to
70,000 people, mainly small farmers who grow grapes, olives and other
crops.
The government of Chile has ruled that the mining cannot take place if it
has a harmful effect on the region around the glaciers. There are mixed
opinions about whether or not the area would be harmed and as a result
there are mixed feelings as to whether the project should proceed.

www.jupiterimages.com

aa-co.blogspot.com

8. What is Chiles economy like? Chile is poor compared with

Canada but does okay according to world standards. A countrys
GDP or gross domestic product is a way of measuring a countrys
wealth. It considers resources a country uses, its investments, its
government spending, its exports and its imports. In 2005, out of
179 countries in the world, Chiles GDP ranked 57th. Canada was
ranked 9th that same year. Chile has welcomed a lot of foreign
investment. Chiles main resources include mining, especially
copper mining, forestry, and exports of fresh fruit, processed food,
seafood and wine.

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