The Chonos Archipelago is a series of low, mountainous, elongated islands with deep bays, traces of a submerged
Chilean Coast Range
The Chilean Coastal Range ( es, Cordillera de la Costa) is a mountain range that runs from north to south along the Pacific coast of South America parallel to the Andean Mountains, extending from Morro de Arica in the north to Taitao Peninsula, ...
. Most of the islands are forested with little or no human settlement. The deep
Moraleda Channel separates the islands of the Chonos Archipelago from the mainland of
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
and from
Magdalena Island.
The largest islands are
Melchor Island,
Benjamin Island,
Traiguen Island,
Riveros Island,
Cuptana Island,
James Island,
Victoria Island,
Simpson Island,
Level Island,
Luz Island.
Far out in the Pacific is
Guamblin Island with the
Isla Guamblin National Park. The National park comprises about 106 km².
Blue whales can often be seen here.
Some groups of islands are grouped into minor archipelagoes such as the
Guaitecas Archipelago. The Guaitecas Archipelago has its own municipality and possesses the only settlement in the archipelago,
Melinka. All islands are part of the
Aisén Region.
Chonos Archipelago was mapped in the 18th and 19th centuries by
José de Moraleda y Montero (1793),
Robert FitzRoy
Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy (5 July 1805 – 30 April 1865) was an English officer of the Royal Navy and a scientist. He achieved lasting fame as the captain of during Charles Darwin's famous voyage, FitzRoy's second expedition to Tierra ...
(1834) and
Enrique Simpson (1870–71).
[Simpson, E. (1874). ''Esploraciones hechas por la Corbeta Chacabuco al mando del capitán de fragata don Enrique M. Simpson en los Archipiélagos de Guaitecas, Chonos i Taitao''. ]Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, wh ...
. Imprenta Nacional.
Most of the archipelago is covered by a more-less open ''
Pilgerodendron'' forest with
cushion plant
A cushion plant is a compact, low-growing, mat-forming plant that is found in alpine, subalpine, arctic, or subarctic environments around the world. The term "cushion" is usually applied to woody plants that grow as spreading mats, are limited ...
s such as ''
Astelia pumila'', ''
Donatia fascicularis'' and ''
Oreobolus obtusangulus''.
[Luebert & Pliscoff, pp. 192–195.] In the western fringes of the archipelago a
shrubland
Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It ma ...
of ''c''. 2 meter high ''Pilgerondendron'' and ''
Nothofagus nitida'' grows. Amidst this shrubland ocacional peatlands and forest exists.
[Luebert & Pliscoff, pp. 208–209.]
See also
*
List of islands of Chile
External links
Islands of Chile @ United Nations Environment ProgrammeWorld island information @ WorldIslandInfo.comSouth America Island High Points above 1000 meters*
United States Hydrographic Office
The United States Hydrographic Office prepared and published maps, charts, and nautical books required in navigation.
The office was established by an act of 21 June 1866 as part of the Bureau of Navigation, Department of the Navy.
It was trans ...
South America Pilot(1916)
References
;Bibliography
*
Ecoregions of Chile
Archipelagoes of Chile
Islands of Aysén Region
Archipelagoes of the Pacific Ocean
{{Aisén-geo-stub