Chile possesses a wide variety of landscapes as rare as they are beautiful, and numerous ecosystems exist at each level of altitude. With the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Andes to the east, Chile is totally closed in by natural elements, thus isolating its flora and fauna from the rest of the world. Even in its vast stretches of desert, living things survive under extreme conditions. From the world's driest desert on the Tropic of Capricorn to the wide open spaces of Patagonia, Chile is filled with natural treasures protected by the country's impassioned nature lovers.