page_title: Wildlife of Chile
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Wildlife of Chile / Geography
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Blühende Atacamawüste, Chile Español: Desierto Florido, en el desierto de Atacama, Chile English: Flowered desert, at the Atacama desert in Chile Français&#160;: Désert fleuri, dans le Désert d'Atacama, Chile
context_page_description: The wildlife of Chile encompasses a diverse range of animals and plants, a condition is attributed to the country's slender and elongated shape, which spans a wide range of latitude, and also its altitude, ranging from the windswept coastline of the Pacific coast on the west to northern Andes to the sub-Antarctic, high Andes mountains in the east. There are many distinct ecosystems.
  Chile, often called "The spine of South America", has 100 protected areas covering a total area of 14.5 million hectares in 36 National parks, 49 National Reserves, and 15 National Monuments. In the southern part of Chile, 50 percent of the flora is endemic which is a unique feature in the world. Lapageria rosea is the national flower, Andean condor, is the national bird, and taruca or South Andean huemul, is the national animal of Chile. Legally, wildlife in Chile is res nullius.
context_section_description: From the wildlife angle, Chile in Southern South America stretches in a north-south direction, called the spine of South America, has terrestrial borders with Argentina and Peru, and has long coast line of 6,435 km (3,999 miles) on the South Pacific Ocean. The Atacama Desert is the most arid desert in the world. The Ojos del Salado, a crater lake which is the world's highest lake (at 6,390 metres (20,960 ft)) is located here.
caption: Atacama Desert
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