For the 11th July, 2010 total solar eclipse the line of totality will pass through the Cook Islands, French Polynesia (Tahiti), Easter Island, Chile and Argentina. Easter Island is the most accessible land mass closest to the point of maximum eclipse. Totality at Easter Island is current expected to be around 4 minutes 50 seconds. In Argentina, Tres Lagos, Lago Viedma (Lake Viedma) and Calafate are all under the line of totality. Of these, Calafate is closest to the expected center line. I have yet to establish settlement areas and vantage points in Chile. The nearest large settlement to the the line of totality is Punta Arenas - however only a partial eclipse will be visible from Punta Arenas.
The maps below provide information on typical climate conditions at various points along the centre line of the 2009 Solar Eclipse. Images are reproduced courtesy of Jay Anderson.
Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA's GSFC
Eclipse maps are reproduced courtesy of Fred Espenak - NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center.
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Mark Sukhija is a travel and wine blogger, photographer, tourism researcher, hat-touting, white-shirt-wearing, New Zealand fantatic and eclipse chaser. Aside from at least annual visits to New Zealand, Mark has seen eclipses in South Australia (2002), Libya (2006), China (2009) and Queensland (2012). After twelve years in Switzerland, Mark moved back to London in 2012. You can follow Mark on Twitter or Facebook