I think Chile is one of the most extreme countries as the following links suggest:

http://www.meteochile.cl/tempext.html
http://www.meteochile.cl/precipitacion.html

The first one is about temperatures recorded along the country. Cities are arranged in a longitudinal way (North-South). The first ones are localized in Atacama desert area (see higher and lower temperatures in Calama, 7220 ft).
Punta Arenas in one of the most southern cities all over the world.

The second link shows the daily precipitations recorded in the cities you see in the previous link. Great desertic climate is present in the northern region of Chile (Arica have only 0,5 mm of annual rainfall), while there are heavy rains in the southern part of the country (thanks to a stau effect).

Really interesting!