Chile is bounded to the north by Peru, to the east by Bolivia and Argentina, to the west by the Pacific and to the south by the Antarctic. The country also exercises sovereignty over a number of offshore islands including the Juan Fernandez Islands and Easter Island.

Chile is one of the most remarkably shaped countries in the world; a ribbon of land 4200km (2610 miles) long and nowhere more than 180km (115 miles) wide. The Andes and a coastal highland range take up one-third or half of the width in parts and run parallel with each other from north to south. Between the ranges runs a fertile valley, except in the north where transverse ranges join the two major ones, and in the far south where the sea has broken through the coastal range to form an assortment of archipelagos and channels.

The country contains an extraordinary range of terrains and climate. The northern part of the country consists mainly of the Atacama Desert, the driest in the world. The central zone is predomonantly agricultural. The south is forested and contains some agriculture; further south, the forests on the Atlantic side give way to rolling grassland on which sheep and cattle are reared..