
The German poet Adelbert von Chamisso wrote a poem about Sala y Gomez Island based on his reflections upon visiting the island in 1816. Hawaii by James Michener, on Desolacion Island. The Ice Limit by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, on Desolacion Island. The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin. El último grumete de la Baquedano by Francisco Coloane. The Survivors of the "Jonathan" by Jules Verne. The Narrative of the Honourable John Byron by John Byron. Several reports, novels and tales have the islands of Chile as geographic background: Gable Island is listed by National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Country Files (GNS) as a Chilean Island, but it is actually part of Argentina. Main article: List of islands of Chile River and lake islands Įlizabeth Island, Bodesta, Pactolus Bank and some reefs have been mentioned in the past as lying near Chilean territories but they are phantom islands. The 381 biggest islands – all those over 10 km 2 ( 3 + 7⁄ 8 sq mi) in area – represent 97% of the island territory of Chile. The biggest eight islands and archipelagos ( Tierra del Fuego, Chiloé, Wellington, Riesco, Hoste, Santa Inés, Navarino and Magdalena), each measuring over 2,000 km 2 (770 sq mi) in area, represent 56% of the island territory of Chile. 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 105,561 square kilometres (40,757 sq mi), that is, 14% of Chile's territory (not including its Antarctica claims). The Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Chilean Navy has begun to consider island a surface greater than 100,000 m 2 (1,100,000 sq ft). Ĭlassifications vary for isla ("island"), islote ("islet"), roquerío ("rocks"), farallón ("cliff") and archipiélago or grupo ("archipelago"). Chile has one of the world's longest coastlines, and one of the most dangerous for boats it is more than 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi) long and has at least 43,471 islands.
By far the majority of these are the islands in the south of the country.
The islands of Chile encompass the various islands that the government of Chile has sovereignty over.