Intermediate Depression
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The Intermediate Depression (Spanish depresión intermedia) is one of the four main north-south features of the geography of Chile.
[edit] Topography
Between the western foothills of the Andes and the eastern foothills of the Cordillera de la Costa lies a concave area known as the Depresión Intermedia or Valle Longitudinal (longitudinal valley). This valley, which has been filled with the byproducts of volcanic activity and erosion of the surrounding mountains, was sculpted into its smooth present state by glaciers, both eolian and hydrous. It runs across almost entirely across Chile, from Arica to Puerto Montt, where it falls into the sea at Reloncaví Sound.
The Depression is only interrupted in a small stretch between the south of the Atacama Region and northern Valparaíso, where the aforementioned foothills close in from both sides and become separated only by a few narrow river gorges called transverse valleys (valles transversales).
[edit] Socioeconomic function
The Intermediate Depression is the most agriculturally viable sector of Chile. It is responsible more that three quarters of the country's agricultural production. In the north between the Tarapacá Region and the Coquimbo Region, economic activity is relatively scarce due to the predominating desert, excepting small valleys of the latter region. It produces many of the country's wines and is the world's leading production zone of the distilled beverage pisco, thanks to an important process of industrialization.
The national capital, Santiago de Chile, is nestled within this valley, but it is not known for its agricultural activity but rather for its manufacturing and service industries. The most agriculturally active region is concentrated between Biobío and the Los Lagos Region, where the Depression terminates.
[edit] References
This article draws heavily on the corresponding article in the Spanish-language Wikipedia which was accessed on the version of 28 November 2005.
