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Chile

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A volcanic ash cloud rises above Chile's Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcano shortly after its eruption on 4 June 2011. In Argentina's border town of Bariloche, a layer of ash at least 30 cm (12 in) deep covered the ground. Image courtesy of NASA.
A NASA image taken on the morning of June 6, 2011, shows a large ash plume emanating from Chile's Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcano. Reaching an altitude of approximately 12,000-15,000 m (40,000-45,000 ft), the ash cloud drifted north along the Andes. Image courtesy of NASA.
A satellite view of the Puyehue-Cordon Volcano Complex in Chile on June 13, 2011 -- the 10th day of an eruption -- shows a very large blanket of ash deposited onto the Pampas of Argentina. Photo courtesy of NASA.
Near the southern tip of South America in Chile, the most active of three volcanoes is the westernmost, Volcan Villarrica, pictured in this photo-like satellite image. The 2,582 m (9,357 ft) stratovolcano is mantled by a 30 sq km (10 sq mi) glacier field, most of it south and east of the summit in a basin made by a caldera depression. To the east and northeast, the glacier is covered by ash and other volcanic debris, giving it a rumpled, brown look. The western slopes are streaked with gray-brown gullies, the paths of lava and mudflows (lahars). Image courtesy of NASA.
Steep-sided volcanic cones along the Andes on the Chilean-Argentinean border add texture to this false-color satellite image. Of approximately 1,800 volcanoes scattered across this region, 28 are active and form part of the Andean volcanic belt that runs down the length of South America. Image courtesy of USGS.
This panorama looking southeast across the South American continent was taken from the International Space Station almost directly over the Atacama Desert near Chile's Pacific coast. The high plains (3000-5000 m, 13,000-19,000 ft) of the Andes Mountains, also known as the Puna, appear in the foreground, with a line of young volcanoes (dashed line) facing the much lower Atacama Desert (1000-2000 m elevation). Several salt-crusted dry lakes occupy the basins between major thrust faults in the Puna. Salar de Arizaro (foreground) is the largest of the dry lakes in this view. The Atlantic Ocean coastline is dimly visible at the top left. Near image center is the transition between two distinct geological zones, the Puna and the Sierras Pampeanas. The color change from reds and browns in the foreground to blues and greens in the upper part of the image reflects the major climatic regions: the deserts of the Atacama and Puna versus the grassy plains of central Argentina. Image courtesy of NASA.
Brightly colored solar-evaporation (salt) ponds in a desert landscape give this astronaut photo an unreal quality. The ponds sit near the foot of a long alluvial fan in the Pampa del Tamarugal, the hyper-arid inner valley of Chile's Atacama Desert. The alluvial fan sediments are dark brown, and they contrast sharply with the Pampa del Tamarugal's tan sediments. Nitrates and many other minerals are mined in this region, and a few extraction pits and ore dumps are visible in the upper left. Image courtesy of NASA.
This enhanced satellite image shows a field of dormant volcanoes on the border between Chile and the Catamarca province of Argentina. The photo is tinged with various colors that can indicate both the age and mineral content of the original lava flows. Some arroyos and alluvial fans may be seen in the upper left. Image courtesy of USGS.
The entrance to Fuerte Bulnes, a Chilean fort located by the Strait of Magellan, 62 km (38 mi) south of Punta Arenas. The fort was originally built in 1843 to encourage colonization in Southern Chile, protect the Strait of Magellan, and ward off claims by other nations. Harsh weather prevented large-scale settlement, and after the government founded Punta Arenas to the north in 1848, the fort was abandoned and burned. Between 1941 and 1943, it was reconstructed and in 1968 became a national monument.
Cape Horn, named after a city in the Netherlands, is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in southern Chile. It is frequently referred to as "the sailors' graveyard" because the waters in the area are particularly hazardous due to strong winds, large waves, strong currents, and icebergs.
Monument in Punta Arenas, Chile, to Ferdinand Magellan, the first explorer to circumnavigate the world. Overcoming storms and mutinies, the Portuguese expedition (1519-22) crossed the Strait of Magellan (named after the navigator) to become the first explorers to cross from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.
A view of the monument in Punta Arenas, Chile, to Ferdinand Magellan, the first explorer to circumnavigate the world. Overcoming storms and mutinies, the Portuguese expedition (1519-22) crossed the Strait of Magellan (named after the navigator) to become the first explorers to cross from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.
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