About Chile / Patagonia
Chile
History, Geography & Culture - Fortified by natural barriers on all sides, Chile’s fertile and rich central valley was undiscovered by outsiders until the middle of the 15th century when the Inca empire began their dominance of the continent. Moving south from Peru, an Inca army headed by Tupac Yupanqui pushed its way through the arrid and uninhabitable six hundred mile stretch of the Atacama Desert which lies in the northern sector of Chile and runs along the borders of both Peru and Bolivia. Upon arrival to the northern sector of the central valley, the Inca army managed to successfully advance approximately half way down the length of the five hundred mile valley. It was here at the gateway to the “Lake District” that the Incas ran into fierce resistance from the indigenous Mapuche Indians who decisively defeated their advance and attempts to cross the Maule River (Rio Maule). The Incas settled into their newfound territory in Chile, but made no further efforts to forge further south into Mapuche territory.
Less than a century later, European conquistadors began to arrive in the territory of Chile. Ferdinand Magellan was the first European explorer to discover Chile, setting foot in the Andean country on October 21, 1520. A few decades later, a Spanish army led by Pedro de Valdavia in 1541 crossed into the central valley after traveling from Peru via the Inca route. He founded Santiago that February and soon thereafter made his way further south into Mapuche territory establishing a stronghold there for many years. However, this was not to last as resilient Mapuche warriors finally breached his foothold in 1553 and welcomed him by bounding him to a tree and beheading him.
Chile is officially known as the republic of Chile and comprises a long narrow strip of land along the western edge of South America nestled between the Pacific Ocean to the west and the rugged Andes Mountains, the world’s longest mountain range. Maintaining borders with Peru in the north, Bolivia in the northeast and Argentina to the west, it is one of only two countries in South America that does not share a border with Brazil. Boasting a coastline of almost 4000 miles, its entire western border is the Pacific Ocean.
Regions of Chile
This land of incredible contrasts maintains a wide variation of climates that range from the extreme arrid conditions of the Atacama Desert (regions 1,2 and 3 on the map) in the north, some of which has no recorded history of rain ever, to glaciers and icebergs in the far arctic south. *The map to the left outline the twelve (12) distinct administrative regions (states) of Chile.
The Atacama desert is one of the driest places in the world and has been said it is fifty times drier than California’s death valley. The soil in the Atacama desert has been compared to soil samples found on Mars. Some British scientists have concluded that some of the riverbeds in the Atacama have been dry for more than 120,000 years. Sparsely populated, this area of Chile is where the majority of copper is mined as Chile is the #1 copper exporter in the world.
The mid section of country begins around the area of the capital city of Santiago and stretches all the way down through the Lake District area. This is where the coveted central valley is located and where most of Chile’s agro commerce occurs. As a matter of fact, there is probably not a week that goes by that you do not eat fruit or vegetable products that come from this part of the world. International conglomerates such as Archer Daniels, Kraft Foods and General Mills have buying arrangements with Chilean farmers and agricultural producers in this region. The Mediterranean like temperatures are mild in this region and the area experiences four distinct seasons very similar to the north american continent and the USA.
The Chilean Patagonia region begins in the Northern part of region ten (X on the map to the left) and stretches all the way through regions eleven (XI) and twelve (XII) down to the arctic ocean coastline of Chile. Region ten (X) is the state of Palena and resides in the Los Lagos region of Chile. Region eleven (XI) is known as the state of Aisen and it is one of Chile’s least populated regions. Lastly, region twelve (XII) is the state of Magallanes and is the second least inhabited area of Chile. It is within these three regions that some of the world’s most pristine and spectacular landscapes reside. Numerous lakes, natural bays, national parks and wildlife sanctuaries exist in the Patagonia making it a truly unique and natural wonder of the the world. It is this Patagonia region that Patagonia Maqui sources its Patagonia maqui berries that only grow wild in rugged and harsh terrain. These maqui berries are ONLY harvested two months out of the year making them some of the most sought after superfruit in the world!