Chile, a long ribbon of land lying between the high peaks of the Andes and the Pacific Ocean, running over 4,500 Kms., along the south - west coast of South America, with an area of 756,946 square Kms, is comparatively smaller than Brasil and Argentina but nonetheless larger than France and some European countries. With its never more than 180km wide, it is hard to imagine that such a small country can boast such peaks (some over 20,000 feet high) snow - capped volcanoes, valleys, deserts, fjords, lakes, and glaciers.