Chile's climate is not uniform, with northern Chile experiencing desert conditions, central Chile Mediterranean, and the south feeling mostly cool and damp weather.
This map further exhibits the varied climate conditions in Chile in relation to the type of vegetation that is able to grow in particular regions. As you can see, parts of northern Chile is hard up for vegetation growth, while south central and southern areas experiences an abundance of plant life. Interestingly, the lush conditions of these areas are ideal for vineyards. Central Valley Chilean wine has been a hot commodity since the 16th century.*
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| Map courtesy of Wikipedia.org |
For the most part, Chile's seasonality is fairly level. Though the climates and temperatures do change depending upon location, as noted above, Chile is still a generally warm country that does not experience tremendous shifts with the passings of each season. Let's look at the south central city of Valdivia, for example. Valdivia's average annual temeperature 61.9 degrees, with its coldest month being July (an average temperature of 50) and its warmest February (averaging out at 73). Though the temperatures stay fairly warm in Valdivia, to illustrate the differences between regions, the northern city of Arica experiences less seasonality then Valdivia. The range of temperatures between Arica's coldest months July and August (both averaging 64) and its warmest, February (79), is only 15, as opposed to Valdivia's 23.
Comparing the seasonality and climate of Chile to that of my hometown Denver, CO, frankly, leaves me a little bit jealous! Our coldest month, December, sees average temperatures of 42, while our warmest averages out at 89 (July). That's a (hard to adjust to!) range of 47 degrees!
I always thought that Chile would be such an interesting place to live because of all the different climates. I thought there would be a bit more diversity because it spans such a long line of latitude. I've always wanted to visit the Patagonia area and see the glaciers and alpine tundra. It seems like their mountains might be similar to ours, with a big rain shadow to the East (just like Denver). Good to know there are places in the country with a moderate temperature change too!
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