Southern Chile is an informal geographic term for any place south of the capital city,

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, or south of Biobío River, the mouth of which is Concepción, about {{convert, 200, mi, km, sigfig=1, order=flip south of Santiago. Generally cities like

Temuco Temuco () is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune, capital (political), capital of the Cautín Province and of the Araucanía Region in southern Chile. The city is located south of Santiago de Chile, Santiago. The cit ...

are considered to be located in the south despite being relatively close to the geographical center of Chile. This is mainly because mainland Chile ended in La Frontera until the

occupation of Araucanía The Occupation of Araucanía or Pacification of Araucanía (1861–1883) was a series of military campaigns, agreements and penetrations by the Chilean military and settlers into Mapuche territory which led to the incorporation of Araucanía i ...

(1861–1883). Similarly, the Southern Chile wine region is close to the geographic center of the country, encompassing wine-growing areas in the Bío Bío Region and

Araucanía Region The Araucanía ( ), La Araucanía Region ( ) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions, and comprises two provinces: Malleco in the north and Cautín in the south. Its capital and largest city is Temuco; other important cities ...

. Southern Chile may also refer to the

Zona Sur Zona Sur (''Southern Zone'') is one of the five natural regions on which CORFO divided continental Chile in 1950. Its northern border is formed by the Bío-Bío River, which separates it from the Central Chile Zone. The Southern Zone borders the ...

region between Biobío and

Chacao Channel The Chacao Channel () is located in Los Lagos Region, Chile and separates Chiloé Island from mainland Chile. The channel is about 40 km long and 4 km wide and connects the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of Ancud. The channel was created during the Quat ...

, which is often also called the Chilean Lake District. It may also refer to the

Zona Austral The Zona Austral (''Southernmost Zone'') is one of the five natural regions into which CORFO divided continental Chile in 1950 corresponding to the Chilean portion of Patagonia. It is surrounded by the Zona Sur and the Chacao Channel to the ...

, also called the Extreme South.

List of major cities in Southern Chile

Ordered from north to south. *

Valdivia Valdivia (; Mapuche: Ainil) is a city and commune in southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder, Pedro de Valdivia, and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia, and ...

* La Unión * Rio Bueno * Osorno * Puerto Varas *

Puerto Montt Puerto Montt (Mapuche: Meli Pulli) is a port city and commune in southern Chile, located at the northern end of the Reloncaví Sound in the Llanquihue Province, Los Lagos Region, 1,055 km to the south of the capital, Santiago. The commune ...

* Castro *

Punta Arenas Punta Arenas (, historically known as Sandy Point in English) is the capital List of cities in Chile, city of Chile's southernmost Regions of Chile, region, Magallanes Region, Magallanes and Antarctica Chilena. Although officially renamed as ...

Geography of Chile Regions of South America by country