Geology of Chile - General Characteristics

General Characteristics

The Andes derive in three mayor morphological features are present in most of the country; the proper Andes Mountains, the Chilean Coast Range and the Chilean Central Valley (also called Intermediate Depression and Longitudinal Valley) between them. These features run parallelly in a north-south direction from Morro de Arica to Taitao Peninsula, covering up most of Chile's land surface. Further south from Taitao only the Andes Mountains is present.

North of Taitao Peninsula this subduction zone is made up of the Peru-Chile Trench which is the boundary between the South American and the Nazca Plates. At the site of Taitao the triple junction of the Antarctic, the Nazca plate subducts under the continent.