Chile Elevation Map — Topographic & 3D Terrain
Explore the terrain of Chile in interactive 3D, built from Copernicus GLO-30 satellite elevation data — a 4,300-kilometre ribbon of land pressed between the Andes and the Pacific. Drag to rotate, scroll to zoom, and tap any point to read its elevation.
Chile’s highest point is Ojos del Salado at 22,615 ft (6,893 m); its lowest is Pacific Ocean coast at 0 ft (0 m); the mean elevation is 4,341 ft (1,323 m).
Chile is a ribbon. It runs 4,300 km down the western edge of South America and is rarely more than 180 km wide, squeezed between the Andes and the Pacific — so the whole country is, in effect, one long mountain slope falling into the sea. Nearly half of it lies above 3,281 ft (1,000 m), and its high point, Ojos del Salado at 22,615 ft (6,893 m), is the highest active volcano on Earth.
- Highest point📚
- 22,615 ft6,893 m
- Chile's highest point is Ojos del Salado at 22,615 ft (6,893 m), the highest active volcano on Earth — a vast ash-and-scree cone on the Argentine border, shared between the two countries, and the second-highest summit in the Western Hemisphere after Aconcagua.
- Lowest point📚
- 0 ft0 m
- Chile's lowest point is the Pacific at sea level — never far away, since the country is rarely more than 180 km wide and the Andes drop to the ocean along its entire 4,300-kilometre length.
- Mean elevation⚙
- 4,341 ft1,323 m
- Chile's mean elevation computed from the GLO-30 model is 4,341 ft (1,323 m) — high, and inevitable in a country that is essentially the western flank of the Andes: there is no interior lowland for the average to fall into.
- Median elevation⚙
- 2,769 ft844 m
- Half of Chile lies above 2,769 ft (844 m), unusually close to the mean for a mountainous country — because Chile has no vast plain pulling the middle down, only the narrow Central Valley between two mountain ranges.
- Elevation range📚
- 22,615 ft6,893 m
- From the Pacific shore to the summit of Ojos del Salado, Chile spans about 22,600 ft — and crosses that entire range within a strip of land narrow enough to drive across in an afternoon.
- Above 1,000 m (3,281 ft)⚙
- 45%
- About 45% of Chile lies above 1,000 m (3,281 ft) — nearly half the country, taking in the whole Andean wall and the high desert plateau of the Puna in the north.
- Above 2,000 m (6,562 ft)⚙
- 25%
- Roughly 25% of Chile stands above 2,000 m (6,562 ft), and about 15% above 3,000 m — concentrated in the northern Puna, where the Atacama's driest ground already sits at altitude beneath volcanoes over 6,000 m.
- Official area📚
- 291,932 mi²756,102 km²
- Chile covers about 291,932 sq mi (756,102 sq km) in a strip so long it spans 38 degrees of latitude — from the driest desert on Earth in the north to glaciers, fjords, and Antarctic-facing islands in the far south.
- Forest cover📚
- 24.5%
- About 24% of Chile is forested — almost none of it in the northern desert, and nearly all of it in the wet temperate south, where Valdivian rainforest covers the slopes between the Andes and the sea.
Highest and lowest points
Chile's highest point is Ojos del Salado, 22,615 ft (6,893 m), on the border with Argentina in the Atacama's high Puna — the highest active volcano on Earth and the second-highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere, after Argentina's Aconcagua. The summit is shared between the two countries. Because it sits marginally outside the boundary this map masks to, the highest terrain rendered within Chile reads a little lower; the figure above is the surveyed elevation of the recognised summit.
source ↗Chile's lowest point is the Pacific Ocean at sea level, along a coastline running the country's full 4,300-kilometre length. What makes it unusual is the proximity: in most of Chile the shore and the Andean crest are less than 200 km apart, so the land falls from over 6,000 m to the sea across a span narrower than many countries are wide. In the far south that coast dissolves into a maze of fjords, channels, and thousands of islands.
source ↗Ojos del Salado is a border summit: its peak lies about 1 km outside the generalized Chile boundary, so the highest fully in-territory land pixel in the model is 22,119 ft (6,742 m). The headline figure above is the surveyed elevation of the recognised national high point.
Chile at a glance
Ojos del Salado, 6,893 m on the Argentine border, is the highest active volcano on Earth and the second-highest peak in the Western Hemisphere.
source ↗Chile stretches about 4,300 km north to south but is rarely more than 180 km wide - one of the most elongated countries in the world.
source ↗The Atacama Desert in northern Chile is the driest non-polar desert on Earth, with weather stations that have recorded no rainfall for years at a time.
source ↗Chile's Central Valley - the narrow trough between the Andes and the lower Coast Range - holds most of the country's people, farmland, and vineyards.
source ↗In the far south the coast breaks into fjords, channels, and thousands of islands, and the Andes carry the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, one of the largest outside the poles.
source ↗Chile spans 38 degrees of latitude, so its terrain runs from high desert to temperate rainforest to glacier within a single country.
source ↗
Elevation profile of Chile
The largest share of land, 38%, falls in the 0–500 m band, and 62% of the territory lies above 500 m (1,640 ft).
- below 500 m (1,640 ft)38%
- 500–1,000 m17%
- 1,000–2,000 m21%
- above 2,000 m (6,562 ft)25%
Highest peaks of Chile
| Peak | Elevation | Range | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ojos del Salado↗ | 22,615 ft6,893 m | Andes (Puna de Atacama) | Highest point of Chile and the highest volcano on Earth; on the Argentine border. |
| Cerro El Muerto↗ | 21,358 ft6,510 m | Andes (Puna de Atacama) | A high peak on the Argentina–Chile border just southwest of Ojos del Salado. |
| Cerro Vicuñas↗ | 19,905 ft6,067 m | Andes (Puna de Atacama) | A volcanic peak just north of Ojos del Salado, often used as an acclimatisation climb. |
| Nevado El Fraile↗ | 19,885 ft6,061 m | Andes (Puna de Atacama) | A volcanic mountain on the Argentine border near Copiapó. |
| Copiapó (Azufre)↗ | 19,856 ft6,052 m | Andes (Atacama Region) | A stratovolcano that divides Nevado Tres Cruces National Park, near Ojos del Salado. |
| Cerro Vicuña Mackenna↗ | 10,217 ft3,114 m | Chilean Coast Range | Highest point of the Chilean Coast Range, in the northern Atacama — far lower than the Andean giants inland. |
Chile, north to south and east to west
The Andes and the Puna
Chile's eastern border is the Andean crest for its entire length. In the north the range broadens into the Puna de Atacama, a high desert plateau above 3,500 m studded with volcanoes over 6,000 m, including Ojos del Salado; farther south it narrows into the sharper peaks of the Patagonian Andes.
The Central Valley
Between the Andes and the coastal range runs a long structural trough — the Central Valley — a few hundred metres above the sea and rarely more than 60 km wide. This narrow floor holds Santiago, most Chileans, and nearly all the country's agriculture.
The Coast Range and the Pacific edge
A lower chain of coastal mountains runs between the Central Valley and the ocean, dropping steeply to the shore. South of Puerto Montt it fragments entirely, becoming the islands and headlands of the fjord coast.
The Atacama and the far south
The two ends of Chile could hardly differ more: the Atacama in the north is the driest non-polar desert on Earth, its high plains baked and rainless, while the far south is cold, wet, and glaciated, with icefields feeding directly into Pacific fjords.
How to read this map
Color shows elevation; the raised relief shows real terrain. On this map Chile reads as a narrow strip with a hard brown-and-white eastern edge — the Andes — falling fast through the green thread of the Central Valley to the Pacific.
The 3D relief is the actual GLO-30 elevation data, exaggerated vertically so the steep drop from crest to coast stands out; the ×N relief slider controls how much. Tap anywhere to read that point's exact elevation.
City elevations in Chile
Chilean cities sit in the Central Valley or on the coast — Santiago at about 1,800 ft in the valley trough, the ports at sea level. The exception is the far north, where mining towns like Calama stand above 7,400 ft on the edge of the Atacama's high desert.
| City | Population | Elevation |
|---|---|---|
| Santiagocapitalthe capital, in the Central Valley trough between the Andes and the Coast Range, at about 550 m ↗ | 4,837,295 | 1,801 ft549 m |
| Antofagasta | 401,096 | 52 ft16 m |
| Puerto Montt | 245,902 | 36 ft11 m |
| Arica | 241,653 | 102 ft31 m |
| Temuco | 238,129 | 364 ft111 m |
| Concepción | 223,574 | 75 ft23 m |
| Iquique | 199,587 | 43 ft13 m |
| Talca | 197,479 | 325 ft99 m |
| Calamaa mining city on the high Atacama plateau at about 2,270 m, in the driest desert on Earth ↗ | 166,334 | 7,441 ft2,268 m |
| Coquimbo | 161,317 | 75 ft23 m |
Elevation sampled at each city centre from the Copernicus GLO-30 model. Cities and population from GeoNames (CC-BY 4.0).
Chile in comparison
Chile's terrain rises 22,615 ft (6,893 m) from sea level to Ojos del Salado — about 78% of the height of Mount Everest, the world's highest point at 29,032 ft (8,849 m).
- Peru's mean elevation is 4,810 ft — 469 ft higher; its high point, Huascaran, reaches 22,205 ft (6,768 m), 410 ft below. Peru elevation map →
- Nepal's mean elevation is 6,929 ft — 2,589 ft higher; its high point, Mount Everest (Sagarmatha), reaches 29,032 ft (8,849 m), 6,417 ft above. Nepal elevation map →
- Switzerland's mean elevation is 4,301 ft — 39 ft lower; its high point, Dufourspitze (Monte Rosa), reaches 15,203 ft (4,634 m), 7,411 ft below. Switzerland elevation map →
Frequently asked questions
What is the highest point in Chile?
- Ojos del Salado, 22,615 ft (6,893 m), on the Argentine border - the highest active volcano on Earth and the second-highest peak in the Western Hemisphere, its summit shared with Argentina.
What is the lowest point in Chile?
- The Pacific Ocean at sea level - never far away in a country rarely more than 180 km wide.
What is the average elevation of Chile?
- Computed from the Copernicus GLO-30 model, the area-weighted mean is 4,341 ft (1,323 m) - high, because the country is essentially the western flank of the Andes with no interior lowland.
How long and narrow is Chile?
- About 4,300 km from north to south and rarely more than 180 km wide - one of the most elongated countries on Earth, spanning 38 degrees of latitude.
Why is the Atacama Desert so dry?
- It lies in a rain shadow between the Andes and a cold coastal current, making it the driest non-polar desert on Earth - some weather stations have recorded no rain for years.
Is this a topographic, relief, contour, or elevation map of Chile?
- They describe the same thing - terrain height. This page renders the country's actual elevation surface in interactive 3D and reports the statistics computed from it.
About this map
The terrain is rendered from the Copernicus GLO-30 digital elevation model (ESA), masked to the CHL-ADM0 boundary from geoBoundaries (gbOpen). Elevation statistics are computed directly from the model; peak names and researched facts are sourced and cited. See the methodology for the full pipeline.
Our area-weighted mean, computed from the Copernicus GLO-30 model, is 4,341 ft (1,323 m); the figure commonly cited elsewhere is 6,138 ft (1,871 m) (CIA World Factbook). Chile's terrain is dominated by the Andes along its entire eastern edge, so the mean sits high despite a long Pacific coastline; the page reports the area-weighted figure computed from the Copernicus GLO-30 model.
Surveyed national figures: official area · forest cover · high point.
Rendered from Copernicus GLO-30 (ESA, 2021 release), boundaries from geoBoundaries. Generated 2026-06-19.
Bordering countries · 3
Chile shares a land border with these countries — open any one to compare its terrain and highest point.