Why are there so many islands in the south of Chile?

The southern part of Chile is in the westerly wind belt, with a lot of precipitation, so the flow of the river is relatively large, and because of the high geographical latitude here, the Quaternary glaciers cover a wide area, and the development of modern glaciers, under the joint erosion of glaciers and rivers, the coast is seriously cut, and it becomes very curved, forming a lot of deep and long fjords. In addition, as the earth's crust gradually subsided, the lower saddles and foothills of the Cordillera were flooded, creating islands of various sizes, and the intrusion of the sea also turned the depressions of the central valley into shallow bays.

The shallow sea between these islands and the mainland is a very good sea channel. It's in the westerly wind belt, so the waves aren't very strong, and the cold Peruvian current flows northward. Most of the Antarctic research fleets of many countries sail through here, and these islands of different sizes are natural windbreakers and breakwaters, protecting the lives and property of navigators and expeditions from all over the world.

Open the world map, you can be surprised to find that whether it is on the east or west coast of the continent, the coastline of the entire South American continent is relatively straight, and there are few islands and peninsulas. In the south of Chile, over the 40th parallel, the coastline suddenly becomes very curved, and there are many different islands scattered around it, all the way to Tierra del Fuego.

If you take a closer look at Chile's geology, landforms, glacial activity, and more, you'll find the right answer. Chile is the longest country in the world. Its topography is longitudinally lined from north to south, forming three topographic zones.

to the east is the western slopes of the Andes; to the west is the Cordillera Mountains; In the middle is a valley depression between two mountain ranges. The distribution of this topography did not change until 40 degrees south latitude, with the Andes to the east and the Cordillera to the west.

Chile is a South American country located on the western side of the Andes Mountains and southeast of the Pacific Ocean. The area is about the same size as Qinghai Province, and the highest peak is about the same height as Qinghai Province. Here's a shocking secret about Chile:

Its islands are particularly dense, and although there are just over 10,000 of them, their density has shocked my big teeth. In the densest places, there are hundreds of small islands per hectare. The larger islands are also very tightly packed, only 5 to 6 kilometers, and they are all about the same size as Zhoushan Island.

See this island in Zhejiang, right? The Zhoushan Islands are only 150 kilometers apart. I'll choose an area that spans the same latitude as the Zhoushan Islands, and you can see how dense it is. Zhoushan: Alas, it can't be compared, and I sigh! [shocked].

With such a dense number of islands, Norway, which is known for its winding coastline and many fjords, has to bow its head. Norway: To put it bluntly, I'm not as good as you, you're too good! Why? I'll send you another look at the coastline and islands of Norway, and the scale is similar to the previous two.

Even if Norway has 150,000 offshore islands, which is more than 10 times higher than Chile, in terms of density, Norway can't compare.

So, how exaggerated are Chile's islands? I'm going to show you a panorama of southern Chile and give you an experience, so that you can instantly understand what it means to be "too dense for a needle to penetrate".

Chile has a coastline of 6,435 km, of which more than 4,000 km are concentrated in the Essen Zone and the Magellan Chilean Antarctic Zone. These two provincial administrative regions, with their winding coastlines, are particularly rich in islands, with 96 of the islands concentrated within them. And their total area is only the size of Guangxi.

If you look at them as countries, they will definitely beat Canada completely, and the top three in terms of twists and turns are fine.

16 Jonos Islands.

Chiloe Island. Easter Island.

Tierra del Fuego. Tierra del Fuego.

Clarence Island.

Lesco Island. Patagonia.

De Soracion Island.

Gordon Island, Treigen Island.

Guafo Island, Navarino Island.

St. Ynez.

Dawson Island, Madred de Dios Island.