Climate of Chile

cold, low-salinity eastern boundary current that flows north along the western coast of South America from southern Chile to northern Peru

ocean current that flows clockwise from west to east around Antarctica

' is a Spanish word meaning drizzle or mist'. Although used in other contexts in the Spanish-speaking world, most importantly refers to the moist cold fog that blankets the coasts of Peru, southern Ecuador, and northern Chile, especially during the southern hemisphere winter. In Chile, a similar fog is called camanchaca. brings mild temperatures and high humidity to a tropical coastal desert. It also provides moisture from fog and mist to a nearly-rainless region and permits the existence of vegetated fog oases, called lomas. thumb|right|250px| in Lomas de Lachay, near Lima, Peru,

weather phenomenon off the Peru and northern Chile coasts

thumb|The camanchaca, mist over the Atacama Desert, Chile. thumb|Camanchaca in Bosque de Fray Jorge National Park Camanchacas are marine stratocumulus cloud banks that form on the Chilean coast, proximal to the Earth's driest desert, the Atacama Desert, and move inland. In Peru, a similar fog is called garúa, and in Angola cacimbo. On the side of the mountains where these cloud banks form, the camanchaca is a dense fog that does not produce rain. The moisture that makes up the cloud measure between 1 and 40 microns across, too fine to form rain droplets.

In meteorology, a williwaw (archaic spelling williwau) is a sudden blast of wind descending from a mountainous coast to the sea. The word is of unknown origin, but was earliest used by British seamen in the 19th century. The usage appears for winds found in the Strait of Magellan, the Aleutian Islands, and the coastal fjords of the Alaskan Panhandle, where the terms outflow wind and squamish wind are also used for the same phenomenon. On Greenland the word piteraq is used.

overview of the climate of Chile

dry wind occurring the central Chile