Editing Valdivian temperate forests (section)

==Setting==
Temperate rain forests comprise a relatively narrow Chilean coastal strip, between the [[Pacific Ocean]] to the west and the southern [[Andes Mountains]] to the east, from roughly 37° to 48° south latitude. North of 42°, the [[Chilean Coast Range]] stretches on, with just the north–south running [[Chilean Central Valley]] between it and the Andes. South of 42°, the coast range continues as a chain of offshore islands (including [[Chiloé Island]] and the [[Chonos Archipelago]]), while the "Central Valley" is submerged and continues as the [[Gulf of Corcovado]]. Much of the ecoregion was once covered by the [[Patagonian Ice Sheet]] and other [[glacier]]s during the peak of the last [[ice age]], with ice descending from the Andes mountains; numerous bodies of water within the [[Chilean Lake District]] (in the central part of the ecoregion) are the remnants of ancient glacial valleys. The southern part of the region features many glacier-carved [[fjord]]s.

[[File:Termas geometricas.jpg|300px|thumb|Vegetation around Termas Geométricas near [[Coñaripe]]. The Andes of Zona Sur host numerous hotsprings.]]
[[Image:Bosque de olivillo en Punta Curinanco.jpg|thumbnail|An old-grown pure stand of [[Aextoxicon]] in [[Punta Curiñanco]] at the Pacific coast.]]
To the north, the Valdivian forests give way to the [[Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub]] of the [[Chilean Matorral]] ecoregion. A few coastal enclaves of Valdivian forest grow in north-central Chile (such as [[Bosque de Fray Jorge National Park]]) as remains of the [[last glacial maximum]]. To the south lies the [[Magellanic subpolar forests]] ecoregion. The temperate Valdivian, matorral, and Magellanic ecoregions are isolated from the subtropical/tropical forests that dominate northern South America by such landscapes as the [[Atacama]] desert (north of the matorral), the Andes Mountains, and the dry, rain-shadow [[Patagonian steppe]] east of the Andes. As a result, the temperate forest regions have evolved in relative isolation, with a high degree of [[endemism|endemic]] species.

Due to a similar location geographically and geologically (along the [[Pacific Plate]]), the coast-hugging temperate rainforests of the [[Pacific Northwest]] (from [[Northern California]] to [[Southern Alaska]], roughly 40°-60° north latitude) exist in similar settings, with the [[Rocky Mountains]] to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. East of the Rocky Mountains, the North American [[prairie]] grassland stretches from south-central Canada to [[Texas]], not unlike the Argentine grasslands to the east of the Andes. Similar to the Atacama region of Chile, the [[Baja California desert|Baja California]] and [[Sonoran Desert|Sonoran]] deserts in the US/Mexican states of [[California]] and [[Baja California]] act as climatic borders for the northwest’s rainforests.

===Climate===
Since the forest is located at around 40 degrees south, it is strongly influenced by the [[westerlies]]. The water vaper held by the westerlies condenses as they encounter the [[Windward and leeward|windward slope]] of the [[Chilean Coast Range]] and the [[Andes]], create [[orographic rainfall]]. Average annual precipitation varies from 1,000 mm at the northern edge of the ecoregion to more than 6,000 mm per year in the south.<ref name = wwf/> The northern portion of the ecoregion has a [[Mediterranean climate|Submediterranean climate]], with rainfall concentrated in the winter months. This seasonality decreases towards the south.<ref name = wwf/>

Average annual temperatures are fairly uniform within the area, especially at coastal locations where annual temperature differences between localities never exceed 7 °C.<ref name=arroyoetal95/> The northward-flowing oceanic Humboldt Current creates humid and foggy conditions near the coast. In the summer the temperature can climb to 16.5 °C (62 °F), while during winter the temperature can drop below 7 °C (45 °F).<ref>Di Castri F di & E. Hajek 1976.
[http://svsch.ceachile.cl/biblioteca_archivos/Bioclimatologia%20de%20Chile.pdf "Bioclimatología de Chile" 163 pages with english summary] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411125445/http://svsch.ceachile.cl/biblioteca_archivos/Bioclimatologia%20de%20Chile.pdf |date=2008-04-11 }}</ref> Winter temperatures are lower at higher elevations. The tree line is at about 2,400 m in the northern part of the ecoregion (35° S), and descends to 1,000 m in the south of the Valdivian region.<ref name = wwf/>