reme southern part of this region extends eastward to the Atlantic
entrance to the Straits of Magellan, and includes the greater part of
the large island of Tierra del Fuego with all the islands lying south
and west of it. There are some comparatively level stretches of
country immediately north of the Straits, partly forested and partly
grassy plains, where sheep farming has been established with some
degree of success, but the greater part of this extreme southern
territory is mountainous, cold, wet and inhospitable. The perpetual
snow-line here descends to 3500 to 4000 ft. above sea-level, and the
forest growth does not rise above an altitude of 1000 to 1500 ft.

Mountains.

It has been officially estimated that the arable lands of Chile
comprise about twenty-five millions of acres (slightly over 39,000 sq.
m.), or very nearly one-eighth of its total area. The desert regions
of the north include comparatively large areas of plains and gently
sloping surfaces, traversed by ranges of barren hills. The remainder
of the republic, probably more than three-fifths of its surface, is
extremely mountainous. The western slopes of the Andes, with its spurs
and lateral ranges, cover a broad zone on the eastern side of the
republic, and the Cordillera Maritima covers another broad zone on its
western side from about lat. 33 deg. to the southern extremity of Chiloe,
or below lat. 43 deg. This maritime range is traversed by several river
valleys, some of which, like the Bio-Bio, are broad and have so gentle
a slope as to be navigable. The Andes, however, present an unbroken
barrier on the east, except at a few points in the south where the
general elevation is not over 5000 to 6000 ft., and where some of the
Chilean rivers, as the Palena and Las Heras, have their sources on its
eastern side. From the 52nd to about the 31st parallel this great
mountain system, known locally as the Cordillera de los Andes,
apparently consists of a single chain, though in reality it includes
short lateral ranges at several points; continuing northward several
parallel ranges appear on the Argentine side and one on the Chilean
side which are ultimately merged in the great Bolivian plateau. The
Chilean lateral range, which extends from the 29th to the 19th
parallels, traverses an elevated desert region and possesses several
noteworthy peaks, among which are Cerro Bolson, 16,017 ft