Chilean sea: exhaustless wealth
Our country?s coastline is over 4,300 kilometers long. This situation has benefitted our economy, historical development and our current position in the world arena.
The ocean that bathes our shores
The Pacific ocean is the largest ocean on the planet. It takes up 166,241,000 km2, which equals 46% of the Earth’s waters. The Pacific bathes mainland and oceanic Chile, as well as Antarctica. The continental portion (from Arica to the Chacao channel and the area surrounding islands and the Chiloe archipelago) is made up of Pacific waters and spans over 4,000 km from north to south. Chile also includes San Felix and San Ambrosio islands, the Juan Fernandez archipelago –made up by Robinson Crusoe and Alejandro Selkirk islands and Santa Clara islet- and Salas y Gomez and Easter islands, which is located in the continent of Oceania.
The Pacific ocean also bathes the southeastern portion of Antarctica; hence it covers most of the Chilean Antarctic Territory.
Geography of the Chilean coastline
Chile’s coasts are made up of a series of plains and terraces that develop between the Coastal mountain range and the Pacific ocean.
They are known as coastal plains and were formed during past geological periods, when the waters of the Pacific were higher and constantly eroded the western border of the Coastal mountain range.
To the north, this phenomenon isn't continuous because of the presence of coastal cliffs (a uniform chain with an abrupt cliff that drops off to the sea), although they disappear near Taltal, in the Region of Antofagasta, where terraces appear and continue continuously all the way to the Chacao channel.
Parallel to the coastline, Chile has a one of a kind form of relief, the so called Coastal mountain range. It is born 20 km south of Arica, at Camaraca hill, and develops uninterrupted until Tres Montes hill, in the Taitao peninsula (Region of Aisen). It doesn't have high peaks like the Andes mountains; the highest one is Vicuña Mackena sierra (3,030 masl), in the Region of Antofagasta. In the Greater North, this geographical feature is 50 km wide on average and drops off to the ocean abruptly, forming the so called coastal cliffs. In the Small North, the Coastal mountain rage becomes broken up and irregular. In the central zone, specifically around Valparaiso, there are some important hills (Cantillana, Vizcachas and La Campana). Farther south, it decreases significantly in height, once again becoming a continuous chain with different names. For example, south of the Biobio, it’s called the Nahuelbuta mountain range; near the Bueno river (Region of los Rios), it’s called Pelada; and on Chiloe island it’s called Piuche and Pirulil.
River traits
The length and narrowness of out country determine the main characteristics of our rivers. Almost all of them are short, flow from east to west and are unfit for boat traffic.
Plus, they don’t have much water volume, although they are fast-flowing, which makes them a possibility worth exploring for obtaining electricity.
In the north, most rivers are endorheic, which means they don’t flow into the ocean. Nevertheless, there are two exceptions, the Lluta and the Loa. The latter is the longest one in Chile, its covers 33,570 km2 and its runs for 440 km.
From the Loa river to the Copiapo river (Region of Atacama), there are now waterways, in other words, it’s an arheic zone (an area that lacks water or where water is lost due to evaporation).
From the Copiapo river to the south there are some major water courses that flow into the water, including the Huasco, Elqui, Limari, Maipo, Mataquito, Itata, Biobio, Tolten and Baker rivers, among others.
Flora and fauna
Several different species of plants and animals develop in the Chilean sea, including Antarctica.
Marine wildlife is divided into mammals, birds, fish and a rich gamut of invertebrates, such as mollusks, crustaceans, echinoderms, annelids, sponges, cnidaria and platyhelminthes, among others. The most characteristic representatives of this fauna are whales, sea lions, albatrosses, pelicans, seagulls, hakes, conger fish, anchovies, croakers, mackerels and flounders, not to mention oysters, blue mussels, sea urchins, lobsters, crabs, baby clams and regular clams.
On the other hand, marine plant life is also abundant, including a large and varied group of algae, which goes from unicellular species to huge plants, like kelp, plants that float near the surface of the water (planktonic algae) or stick to rocks (benthic algae). They are classified into three groups: brown algae (there are around 1,500 species and they are the largest); red algae (there are over 3,000 known species and most of them grow near tropical and subtropical coasts); and green algae (there are nearly 7,000 species and they are considered one of the oldest types of species dating back nearly 2,000 million years).
Chilean Sea
This is the definition our country gives to the maritime spaces it has sovereignty over (through a declaration signed by Chile, Peru and Ecuador in 1952).
The aforementioned spaces include the waters that surround the mainland coast up to 200 marine miles west, starting from the low-tide line. In the case of Easter Island and Salas y Gomez island, it stretches out 350 miles. Our territory holds the exclusive rights to exploit the live and mineral resources found in this area.
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The Pacific ocean and Chilean trade
From the beginning of Chilean history, the sea has been a natural source of resources for the population. In addition, over time, it has become the country’s main economic link to the rest of the world considering that maritime transportation hauls over 80% of our foreign trade. The sea allows the development of important economic activities, like fishing, aquiculture and tourism.
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Types of rivers
According to the way in which they receive water, our country has four different types of rivers:
- Pluvial (rain-fed) river: they mainly get their water from precipitation.
- Snow-fed river: their volume of flow mainly depends on the amount of snow that falls during the winter.
- Glacial river: they get water from the thawing of snow or glaciers.
- Mixed river: the flow of these rivers comes from the combination of two sources. For example: snow/rain or rain/glacier, among others.
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Classification of Chilean maritime territory
It is split into four parts:
- Territorial Sea: it consists of the first 12 marine miles that start from the shoreline.
- Contiguous Zone: it consists of 12 miles that start at the outer edge of the territorial sea.
- Exclusive Economic Zone or Patrimonial Sea: it stretches out 188 nautical miles beyond the outer edge of the territorial sea. In this area, the state of Chile holds exclusive rights over living and non-living resources.
- Presential Sea: it is a zone in the open ocean in which the state of Chile has a series of obligations that spring from international treaties.
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Anchovy
It is a species that forms large schools and it highly important to the fishing industry in the north of Chile. It lives in cold surface waters from Arica to Corral (Region of los Rios). This means it doesn’t stay too close to the shore, nor does it move to deep waters. Since they are quite sensitive to physical changes of water, their numbers are seriously dwindled by the El Niño phenomenon. They feed heavily on plant and animal plankton.
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Kelp
It is one of the most abundant species of algae found along Chilean coasts. It is highly important to the coastline’s ecosystem because it provides shelter and food to other species, such as panchotes, sea urchins and some mollusks. Their large stems are connected to fronds (leaves) that have a small floating piece filled with air at their base, which allows the stalks to rise from the ocean depths and float to the surface.
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PALABRAS CLAVE
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Fish from the Chilean sea
