A long and narrow coastal Southern Cone country on the west side of the Andes Mountains, Chile stretches over  north to south, but only  at its widest point east to west and  at its narrowest point east to west, with an average width of . This encompasses a remarkable variety of climates and landscapes. It contains  of land area. It is situated within the Pacific Ring of Fire. Excluding its Pacific islands and Antarctic claim, Chile lies between latitudes 17° and 56°S, and longitudes 66° and 75°W.