What is the Chilean desert between the coast and the Andes?
Chilean Matorral are the other Mediterranean climate regions. The Matorral occupies central Chile between 32° and 37° south latitude. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west, and the Chilean Coastal Range lies parallel to the coast. The Chilean Central Valley lies between the Coastal range and the Andes Mountains, which bound the Matorral ecoregion on the east. To the north is the extremely dry Atacama desert, which separates the Matorral from the tropical forests of northern South America. A semi-desert region known as "El Norte Chico", (the "little north") lies between 28° and 32° south latitude, and is the transition zone between
Chilean Coast Range is sparsely populated with land use varying from protected areas to grazing and silviculture. The range is present in all Chilean regions except for Coquimbo Region and Magallanes Region. Like the Andes, the coastal range becomes progressively lower with increasing latitude. The range begins at Morro de Arica in the north and reaches its highest point, of 3114 m, in Sierra Vicuña Mackenna in the Antofagasta Region. Between Copiapó and Aconcagua rivers, in the so-called Norte Chico region, the range fuses with the Andes. Just north of Santiago the range separates from the Andes but comes close to it again