Temperate rain forests comprise a relatively narrow Chilean coastal strip, between the
Pacific Ocean to the west and the southern
Andes Mountains to the east, from roughly 37° to 48° south latitude. North of 42°, the
Chilean Coast Range stretches on, with just the north–south running
Chilean Central Valley between it and the Andes. South of 42°, the coast range continues as a chain of offshore islands (including
Chiloé Island and the
Chonos Archipelago), while the "Central Valley" is submerged and continues as the
Gulf of Corcovado. Much of the ecoregion was once covered by the
Patagonian Ice Sheet and other
glaciers during the peak of the last
ice age, with ice descending from the Andes Mountains; numerous bodies of water within the
Chilean Lake District (in the central part of the ecoregion) are the remnants of ancient glacial valleys. The southern part of the region features many glacier-carved
fjords. . The Andes of Zona Sur host numerous hotsprings. in
Punta Curiñanco at the Pacific coast. To the north, the Valdivian forests give way to the
Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub of the
Chilean Matorral ecoregion. A few coastal enclaves of Valdivian forest grow in north-central Chile (such as
Bosque de Fray Jorge National Park) as remains of the
Last Glacial Maximum. To the south lies the
Magellanic subpolar forests ecoregion. The temperate Valdivian, matorral, and Magellanic ecoregions are isolated from the subtropical/tropical forests that dominate northern South America by such landscapes as the
Atacama desert (north of the matorral), the Andes Mountains, and the dry, rain-shadow
Patagonian steppe east of the Andes. As a result, the temperate forest regions have evolved in relative isolation, with a high degree of
endemic species. Due to a similar location geographically and geologically (along the
Pacific Plate), the coast-hugging temperate rainforests of the
Pacific Northwest (from
Northern California to
Southern Alaska, roughly 40°-60° north latitude) exist in similar settings, with the
Rocky Mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. East of the Rocky Mountains, the North American
prairie grassland stretches from south-central Canada to
Texas, not unlike the Argentine grasslands to the east of the Andes. Similar to the Atacama region of Chile, the
Baja California and
Sonoran deserts in the US/Mexican states of
Arizona and
Baja California act as climatic borders for the northwest’s rainforests.
Climate Since the forest is located at around 40 degrees south, it is strongly influenced by the
westerlies. The water vapor held by the westerlies condenses as they encounter the
windward slope of the
Chilean Coast Range and the
Andes, create
orographic rainfall. Average annual precipitation varies from 1,000 mm at the northern edge of the ecoregion to more than 6,000 mm per year in the south. Winter temperatures are lower at higher elevations. The tree line is at about 2,400 m in the northern part of the ecoregion (35° S), and descends to 1,000 m in the south of the Valdivian region. ==Flora==