The Central Valley ( Spanish : Valle Central ), Intermediate Depression , or Longitudinal Valley is the depression between the Chilean Coastal Range and the Andes Mountains. The Chilean Central Valley extends from the border with Peru to Puerto Montt in southern Chile, with a notable interruption at Norte Chico (27°20'–33°00' S). South of Puerto Montt the valley has a continuation as a series of marine basins up to the isthmus of Ofqui . Some of Chile's most populous cities lie within the valley including Santiago , Temuco , Rancagua , Talca and Chillán .
24-505: Central Valley may refer to: Chilean Central Valley , Chile Central Valley (Chilean wine region) , Chile Costa Rican Central Valley , Costa Rica Central Lowlands , Scotland, sometimes known as the Central Valley Central Valley (California) , United States Central Valley, New York , United States Central Valley, Utah , United States Central Valley Wicca ,
48-598: A Wiccan group See also [ edit ] Central Valley Greenway Central Valley High School (disambiguation) [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles about distinct geographical locations with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Central_Valley&oldid=1232130888 " Category : Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
72-512: A lesser degree vegetation also vary towards the foothills of the Andes and the Chilean Coastal Range. From Santiago to Linares thorny woodlands of Acacia caven are dominant. In Ñuble Region two sclerophyll vegetation types cover the territory. These are the associations of Lithrea caustica – Peumus boldus and Quillaja saponiana – Fabiana imbricata . From Bío Bío River to
96-523: Is a terrestrial ecoregion of central Chile , located on the west coast of South America . It is in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome , part of the Neotropical realm . The matorral ecoregion is characterized by a temperate Mediterranean climate , with rainy winters and dry summers, and lies between the arid Atacama Desert and the humid Valdivian temperate forests . The ecoregion
120-584: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Chilean Central Valley In northernmost Chile the central valley is made up of the Pampitas, a series of small flats dissected by deep valleys. Immediately south of the Pampitas, in Tarapacá Region and northern of Antofagasta Region , the Central Valley is known as Pampa del Tamarugal . Contrary to
144-464: Is home to diverse plant communities, including matorral or tall shrubland, forests and woodlands, savannas, and low shrubland and scrub. The ecoregion is one of the world's five Mediterranean climate regions, which are all located in the middle latitudes on the west coast of continents. The Mediterranean Basin , the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of California and Baja California ,
168-615: Is no proper Central Valley , only a few narrow north–south depressions that align with geological faults . In the northern section of the central valley vegetation is extremely scarce as result of conditions of extreme aridity in Atacama Desert . Only to the south in Atacama Region does a Chilean Matorral vegetation exist. The northern portion of the matorral is made up by the Nolana leptophylla – Cistanthe salsoloides association while
192-570: The Antarctic flora , and the Andes. About 95% of the plant species are endemic to Chile, including Gomortega keule , Pitavia punctata , Nothofagus alessandrii , and the Chilean wine palm , Jubaea chilensis . Simonetti estimated that Mediterranean Chile had 200 native bird species, 37 mammals, 38 reptiles, and 12 amphibians, with 7 endemic birds, 7 endemic mammals, 31 endemic reptiles, and 6 endemic amphibians. Endemic and near-endemic birds include
216-565: The Cape Province of South Africa , and Southwest Australia 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
240-515: The Chilean tinamou ( Nothoprocta perdicaria ), moustached turca ( Pteroptochos megapodius ), white-throated tapaculo ( Scelorchilus albicollis ), Ochre-flanked tapaculo ( Eugralla paradoxa ), crag earthcreeper ( Ochetorhynchus melanurus ), dusky-tailed canastero ( Pseudasthenes humicola ), and Chilean mockingbird ( Mimus thenca ). The ecoregion corresponds to the Central Chile Endemic Bird Area . Native mammals include
264-599: The Gulf of Corcovado that separates Chiloé Island from the mainland. Further south the valley runs as the narrow Moraleda Channel . Emerged portions include numerous small islands plus the eastern coast of Chiloé Island and Taitao Peninsula east of Presidente Ríos Lake , including the Isthmus of Ofqui . (46°50' S). 35°20′07″S 70°43′48″W / 35.33529°S 70.72998°W / -35.33529; -70.72998 Chilean Matorral The Chilean Matorral (NT1201)
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#1732837389793288-588: The Maulino forest of the Chilean Coast Range, along with most of South America's temperate rain forests . The Chilean Matorral ecoregion is home to several plant communities. Semi-desert scrub is common in the north, in the transition to the arid Atacama. Matorral, woodland, forest, and savanna occur further south The ecoregion has many endemic plant species, with affinities to the South American tropics,
312-526: The common degu ( Octodon degus ), Bridges's degu ( Octodon bridgesii ), pichi or dwarf armadillo ( Zaedyus pichiy ), and southern river otter ( Lontra provocax ). The guanaco ( Lama guanacoe ) has been extirpated from the ecoregion. Native mammal predators include the puma ( Puma concolor ), Andean mountain cat ( Leopardus jacobita ), culpeo or andean wolf ( Pseudalopex culpaeus ), and South American gray fox ( Pseudalopex griseus ). Endemic reptiles include several species of tree iguana, including
336-414: The Central Valley re-appears in the south to extend into Osorno and Puerto Montt (41°30' S). This southern section is 190 km long from north to south. The Central Valley south of Bío Bío River has been influenced by volcanism and past glaciations giving origin to the ñadis and moraines that cover parts of the valley. The natural vegetation of the central section vary from north to south. To
360-445: The Pampitas valleys descending from the Andes do not incise the plains but merge into the surface of Pampa del Tamarugal at a height of c . 1500 m. The westernmost portion of Pampa del Tamarugal has a height of 600 m. This western part contain a series of raised areas called pampas and basins containing salt flats . Interconnecting basins are important corridors for communication and transport in northern Chile. South of Loa River
384-610: The black-spotted tree iguana ( Liolaemus nigromaculatus ), braided tree iguana ( Liolaemus platei ), brown tree iguana ( Liolaemus fuscus ), Hellmich's tree iguana ( Liolaemus hellmichi ), Liolaemus nigromaculatus , Kuhlman's tree iguana ( Liolaemus zapallarensis ), Schroeder's tree iguana ( Liolaemus schroederi ), shining tree iguana ( Liolaemus nitidus ), Chilean tree iguana ( Liolaemus chiliensis ), Liolaemus atacamensis , Liolaemus pseudolemniscatus , Liolaemus reichei , and Liolaemus silvai . Other endemic reptiles include Alvaro's anole ( Pristidactylus alvaroi ),
408-565: 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 the Atacama desert and the Matorral. To the south lies the cooler and wetter Valdivian temperate forests ecoregion, which includes transitional deciduous forests, including
432-684: The majority of Chile's population and its largest cities. The Central valley is Chile's main agricultural region, and the region is also subject to extensive grazing, logging, and urbanization. Grasses and other herbaceous plants introduced from the Mediterranean Basin have covered extensive areas of the ecoregion, displacing native plants. Much of the ecoregion's original forest and woodland has been degraded into matorral or scrub, and much matorral degraded into espinal or sparse scrub. Other threats include human-caused fires and overgrazing by introduced rabbits, hares, and goats. Of Chile's ecoregions,
456-436: The north: Santiago Basin and Rancagua Basin. The valley runs an un-interrupted length of 360 km from Angostura de Pelequén in the north to Bío Bío River (37°40' S) in the south. It broadens from 12 km at Molina (35°05' S) in the north to 74 km in the south at Laja (37°15' S) the relief being gently undulating. Conglomerate of Andean provenance cover large swathes of the Central Valley being less common to
480-483: The south Nothofagus obliqua becomes the dominant tree species. Only Llanquihue Lake and the Puerto Montt area are exceptions to this being respectively dominated by Nothofagus dombeyi – Eucryphia cordifolia and Nothofagus nitida – Podocarpus nubigena . South of Puerto Montt the continuation of the Central Valley is made up of a series of marine basins including Reloncaví Sound , Gulf of Ancud , and
504-469: The southern half by the Skytanthus acutus – Atriplex deserticola association. The main portion the Central Valley extends from Tiltil (33°05' S) near Santiago to Temuco (38°45' S). The Coast Range and the Andes almost merge in two locations: one between Santiago and Rancagua and another between San Fernando and Rengo . The result is the enclosure of the Central Valley into two smaller basins in
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#1732837389793528-507: The spotted false monitor ( Callopistes maculatus ), Yanez's lava lizard ( Microlophus yanezi ), Pristidactylus valeriae , and Chilean marked gecko ( Garthia gaudichaudii ). Native amphibians include the Atacama toad ( Rhinella atacamensis ) in the northern portion of the ecoregion, and the banded wood frog ( Batrachyla taeniata ), Chile four-eyed frog ( Pleurodema thaul ), helmeted water toad ( Caudiverbera caudiverbera ), and Alsodes nodosus . The matorral ecoregion contains
552-560: The valley continues, flanked by Cordillera Domeyko to east, until it is ends at the latitude of Taltal (25°17' S). It re-appears around Chañaral (26°20' S) as an isolated basin surrounded by mountains and hills. This 250 km long and up to 70 km wide basin is called Pampa Ondulada or Pampa Austral. As the Pampa Ondulada is extinguished at Copiapó River (27°20' S) in the Norte Chico region running south of this river there
576-529: The west near the Coast Range. Occasionally the valley contains isolated hills and mountains made up of basement rocks. At the latitudes of Temuco the Coast Range is subdued to such degree the Central Valley coalesces with the coastal plains. In the 110 km between Gorbea and Paillaco ( c . 39–40° S) the Central Valley is inexistent as the region is instead crossed by a series of east–west mountainous ridges and broad fluvial valleys. South of this region
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