Chile: The World's Longest North-South Country

Chile holds the record for the longest north-south extent of any country.

Vital Statistics

• Length: 4,270 km (2,653 mi) — 17°S to 56°S.
• Average Width: 177 km (110 mi) — narrowest 90 km, widest 355 km.
• Area: 756,102 km² (38th largest).

Extreme Points

• Northernmost: Cerro Toco / Nevado Ojos del Salado tripoint (Chile/Argentina/Bolivia) — 17°30'S. Atacama Desert.
• Southernmost: Cape Horn (Cabo de Hornos) — 55°59'S. Tierra del Fuego archipelago. (Antarctic claim to 90°S not counted per Antarctic Treaty).

Why So Long & Narrow?

• Andes Mountains (east) block eastward expansion.
• Pacific Ocean (west) limits westward.
• Conquest/colonization followed the longitudinal valley (Depresión Intermedia).
• Treaties fixed borders: 1881 (Argentina), 1904 (Bolivia), 1929 (Peru).

Comparison

• Brazil: 4,395 km N-S but width >4,000 km — not "long and narrow."
• Russia: 4,000+ km N-S but vast east-west.
• Norway: 1,750 km N-S — shorter.

Chile's shape creates unparalleled climatic/ecological diversity — from Atacama to Patagonian ice fields.