Islands of Chile

The islands of Chile encompass the various islands that the government of Chile has sovereignty over. By far the majority of these are the islands in the south of the country. Chile has one of the world's longest coastlines, and one of the most dangerous for boats; it is more than long and has at least 43,471 islands.

Classifications vary for isla ("island"), islote ("islet"), roquerío ("rocks"), farallón ("cliff") and archipiélago or grupo ("archipelago"). The Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Chilean Navy has begun to consider island a surface greater than .Ana María Errázuriz K. and Reinaldo Rioseco H. in Las islas de Chile, retrieved on 25 February 2013

Island territory The Chilean Ministry of National Assets and the Chilean Military Geographical Institute has counted 43,471 units of land, according to last update at 2019, located between the 18° 15'S and 56° 32'S latitudes, with a total area of , that is, 14% of Chile's territory (not including its Antarctica claims). The biggest eight islands and archipelagos (Tierra del Fuego, Chiloé, Wellington, Riesco, Hoste, Santa Inés, Navarino and Magdalena), each measuring over in area, represent 56% of the island territory of Chile. The 381 biggest islands – all those over in area – represent 97% of the island territory of Chile.

Units by region Units by region, according to last update of 2019: Regions of ChileNumber of islandsTarapacá Region111Antofagasta Region241Atacama Region319Coquimbo Region335Valparaíso Region269O'Higgins Region1Maule Region1Ñuble Region1Biobío Region397Los Ríos Region23Los Lagos Region1,769Aysén Region10,050Magallanes Region29,954Total43,471

Ocean islands

River and lake islands Guapi of Ranco Lake Isla del Rey Isla Teja Malvinas Orrego

Phantom islands Elizabeth Island, Bodesta, Pactolus Bank and some reefs have been mentioned in the past as lying near Chilean territories but they are phantom islands. Gable Island is listed by National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Country Files (GNS)The data was retrieved on 19 January 2013 as a Chilean Island, but it is actually part of Argentina.

Literature islands Several reports, novels and tales have the islands of Chile as geographic background:

The Narrative of the Honourable John Byron by John Byron The Survivors of the "Jonathan" by Jules Verne El último grumete de la Baquedano by Francisco Coloane The Golden Ocean by Patrick O'Brian The Unknown Shore by Patrick O'Brian Robinson Crusoe of Daniel Defoe

Two Years' Vacation by Jules Verne The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin Benito Cereno by Herman Melville The Ice Limit by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, on Desolacion Island Hawaii by James Michener, on Desolacion Island The German poet Adelbert von Chamisso wrote a poem about Sala y Gomez Island based on his reflections upon visiting the island in 1816.Adelbert von Chamisso (1981) Gesammelte Werke (Collected works), Band 2 (Vol. 2), Leipzig, p. 291 Ishmael, in Herman Melville's classic novel, Moby Dick, recalls a marble tablet at a whalemen's chapel in New Bedford which pays homage to a whaleman named John Talbot who lost his life whaling "near the Isle of Desolation, off Patagonia". This recollection occurs in Chapter 7, "The Chapel".

Islands of Chile

Bron en licentie