Chile vs. Peru
Geography
| Chile | Peru | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Southern South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Argentina and Peru | Western South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Chile and Ecuador |
| Geographic coordinates | 30 00 S, 71 00 W | 10 00 S, 76 00 W |
| Map references | South America | South America |
| Area | total: 756,102 sq km land: 743,812 sq km water: 12,290 sq km note: includes Easter Island (Isla de Pascua) and Isla Sala y Gomez | total: 1,285,216 sq km land: 1,279,996 sq km water: 5,220 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than twice the size of Montana | almost twice the size of Texas; slightly smaller than Alaska |
| Land boundaries | total: 7,801 km border countries (3): Argentina 6691 km, Bolivia 942 km, Peru 168 km | total: 7,062 km border countries (5): Bolivia 1212 km, Brazil 2659 km, Chile 168 km, Colombia 1494 km, Ecuador 1529 km |
| Coastline | 6,435 km | 2,414 km |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200/350 nm | territorial sea: 200 nm; note: the US does not recognize this claim exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
| Climate | temperate; desert in north; Mediterranean in central region; cool and damp in south | varies from tropical in east to dry desert in west; temperate to frigid in Andes |
| Terrain | low coastal mountains, fertile central valley, rugged Andes in east | western coastal plain (costa), high and rugged Andes in center (sierra), eastern lowland jungle of Amazon Basin (selva) |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Nevado Ojos del Salado 6,893 m (highest volcano in the world) lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m mean elevation: 1,871 m | highest point: Nevado Huascaran 6,746 m lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m mean elevation: 1,555 m |
| Natural resources | copper, timber, iron ore, nitrates, precious metals, molybdenum, hydropower | copper, silver, gold, petroleum, timber, fish, iron ore, coal, phosphate, potash, hydropower, natural gas |
| Land use | agricultural land: 21.1% (2018 est.) arable land: 1.7% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.6% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 18.8% (2018 est.) forest: 21.9% (2018 est.) other: 57% (2018 est.) | agricultural land: 18.8% (2018 est.) arable land: 3.1% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 1.1% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 14.6% (2018 est.) forest: 53% (2018 est.) other: 28.2% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 11,100 sq km (2012) | 25,800 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | severe earthquakes; active volcanism; tsunamis volcanism: significant volcanic activity due to more than three-dozen active volcanoes along the Andes Mountains; Lascar (5,592 m), which last erupted in 2007, is the most active volcano in the northern Chilean Andes; Llaima (3,125 m) in central Chile, which last erupted in 2009, is another of the country's most active; Chaiten's 2008 eruption forced major evacuations; other notable historically active volcanoes include Cerro Hudson, Calbuco, Copahue, Guallatiri, Llullaillaco, Nevados de Chillan, Puyehue, San Pedro, and Villarrica; see note 2 under "Geography - note" | earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, landslides, mild volcanic activity volcanism: volcanic activity in the Andes Mountains; Ubinas (5,672 m), which last erupted in 2009, is the country's most active volcano; other historically active volcanoes include El Misti, Huaynaputina, Sabancaya, and Yucamane; see note 2 under "Geography - note" |
| Environment - current issues | air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage; noise pollution; improper garbage disposal; soil degradation; widespread deforestation and mining threaten the environment; wildlife conservation | deforestation (some the result of illegal logging); overgrazing of the slopes of the costa and sierra leading to soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Lima; pollution of rivers and coastal waters from municipal and mining wastes; overfishing |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Geography - note | note 1: the longest north-south trending country in the world, extending across 39 degrees of latitude; strategic location relative to sea lanes between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage) note 2: Chile is one of the countries along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; up to 90% of the world's earthquakes and some 75% of the world's volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire note 3: the Atacama Desert - the driest desert in the world - spreads across the northern part of the country; Ojos del Salado (6,893 m) in the Atacama Desert is the highest active volcano in the world, Chile's tallest mountain, and the second highest in the Western Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere - its small crater lake (at 6,390 m) is the world's highest lake | note 1: shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake, with Bolivia; a remote slope of Nevado Mismi, a 5,316 m peak, is the ultimate source of the Amazon River note 2: Peru is one of the countries along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; up to 90% of the world's earthquakes and some 75% of the world's volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire |
| Total renewable water resources | 923.06 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 1,879,800,000,000 cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | 90% of the population is located in the middle third of the country around the capital of Santiago; the far north (anchored by the Atacama Desert) and the extreme south are relatively underpopulated | approximately one-third of the population resides along the desert coastal belt in the west, with a strong focus on the capital city of Lima; the Andean highlands, or sierra, which is strongly identified with the country's Amerindian population, contains roughly half of the overall population; the eastern slopes of the Andes, and adjoining rainforest, are sparsely populated |
Source: CIA Factbook
