Puerto Montt in the context of Nahuel Huapi Lake

The Central Valley (Spanish: Valle Central), Intermediate Depression, or Longitudinal Valley is the depression running north to south 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.

Monte Verde is a Paleolithic archaeological site in the Llanquihue Province in southern Chile, located near Puerto Montt, Los Lagos Region. The site is primarily known for Monte Verde II, dating to approximately 14,550–14,500 calibrated years Before Present (BP). The Monte Verde II site has been considered key evidence showing that the human settlement of the Americas pre-dates the Clovis culture by at least 1,000 years. This contradicts the previously accepted "Clovis first" model which holds that settlement of the Americas began after 13,500 cal BP. The Monte Verde findings were initially dismissed by most of the scientific community, but the evidence then became more accepted in archaeological circles. The site also contains an older, much more controversial layer (Monte Verde I) suggested to date to 18,500 cal BP (16,500 BC), that lacks the general acceptance of Monte Verde II.

Monte Verde II represents a campsite with wooden tent-like structures that was later covered by a bog, sealing the site under a layer of anaerobic peat. The occupants of the site made rope and utilized animal skins, and consumed a variety of plant foods, including seaweed (despite the site being 60 kilometres (37 mi) from the ocean at the time), tubers, seeds, fruits and nuts. Remains at the site show that the occupants also butchered now extinct megafauna, including the gomphothere (elephant-relative) Notiomastodon and the llama Palaeolama.

Austral University of Chile (Spanish: Universidad Austral de Chile or UACh) is a Chilean research university based primarily in Valdivia, with satellite campuses in Puerto Montt and Coyhaique. Founded on September 7, 1954, it is one of the eight original Chilean Traditional Universities. It operates as a nonprofit self-owned corporation under private law, and receives significant state-funding.

The Patagonian Ice Sheet was a large elongated and narrow ice sheet centered in the southern Andes that existed during the Llanquihue glaciation. The ice sheet covered all of Chile south of Puerto Montt plus the western fringes of Argentine Patagonia.

The ice sheet extended beyond the crest of the Andes into Argentina, but because of the dryness of the climate it did not reach beyond present-day lakes such as the Yagagtoo, Musters, and Colhue Huapi. At its peak (about 18,000 to 17,500 years ago), the Patagonian Ice Sheet covered about 480,000 km of land with an estimated ice-volume of more than 500,000 km, of which about 4% remains glaciated today in two separated portions known as the Northern and Southern Patagonian Ice Fields.

The Carretera Austral (CH-7, in English: Southern Way) is the name given to Chile's Route 7. The highway runs south for about 1,240 kilometers (770 mi) from Puerto Montt to Villa O'Higgins, passing through rural Patagonia.

Carretera Austral provides road access to Chile's Aysén Region and southern parts of Los Lagos Region. These areas are sparsely populated and despite its length, Carretera Austral provides access to only about 100,000 people. The largest city along the entire road is Coyhaique with a population of 53,715 in 2010.

The 1906 Valparaíso earthquake hit Valparaíso, Chile, on August 16 at 19:55 local time. Its epicenter was offshore from the Valparaíso Region, and its magnitude was estimated at 8.2 M_w. This earthquake occurred thirty minutes after the 1906 Aleutian Islands earthquake.

Much of Valparaíso was destroyed; there was severe damage in central Chile from Illapel to Talca. The earthquake was felt from Tacna to Puerto Montt. Reports said the earthquake lasted four minutes. A tsunami was also generated. The earthquake killed a reported 3,882 people.

Llanquihue Province (Spanish: Provincia de Llanquihue) is one of four provinces of the Chilean region of Los Lagos (X). Its capital is Puerto Montt.

The region is well known for the beauty of its natural environment as well as for the food and seafood from the ports of Puerto Montt and Calbuco.

The Chilean Lake District is a zone in Southern Chile defined by its many lakes in the Andean foothills. The term is primarily used in tourism literature and advertising, in Chile Zona Sur is preferred as a geographical concept. The Chilean Lake District includes the cities of Temuco, Villarrica, Pucón, Valdivia, Osorno, Entre Lagos (Puyehue), Puerto Octay, Frutillar, Puerto Varas and Puerto Montt.

All lakes drain ultimately to the Pacific Ocean. In the north to Toltén River collects the water of Villarrica, Caburgua and Colico. South of these lakes lie the Seven Lakes whose waters reach the Pacific through Valdivia River. Bueno River drains the water of Ranco, Maihue, Puyehue and Rupanco lakes. Llanquihue Lake is drained to the Pacific by Maullín River and Petrohué River does the same for Todos los Santos Lake.