| Area |
756,096 sq km (291,930 sq miles). |
| Population |
15,823,957 (2004 estimate). |
| Capital |
Santiago (de Chile) - population 6,000,000. |
| Climate |
Ranges from hot and arid in the north to very cold in the far south. The central areas have a mild Mediterranean climate with a wet season (May to August). Beyond Puerto Montt in the south is one of the wettest and stormiest areas in the world. |
| Language |
The official language is Spanish, but English is widely spoken. |
| Religion |
Predominantly Christian, of which 72 per cent are Roman Catholic. |
| Time |
Chile spans various time zones depending on the mainland and the islands seasons GMT - 2 to GMT -6.
|
| Highlights |
Chile is the world's longest country with a stunning mixture of attractions, from the world's driest desert to ice capped volcanoes. Chile's weather is also exceptional, ranging from hot and arid in the north to very cold in the far south. In the far north, Arica, home of the famous and beautiful San Marcos Cathedral, is an interesting oasis town on the Pacific coast, with good beaches and conditions ideal for deep-sea fishing. Travelling south through the Atacama Desert, the land is splashed with the colours of the minerals, salt flats, geysers and flamingos. In the central region the stunning snow-capped peaks of the Andes provide the perfect backdrop to rolling green fields, vineyards and orange groves. South of Santiago the stunning Lake District starts in Temuco where Lake Villarica and the Trancura and Cincira rivers combine to create not only beauty but also an angle's paradise! In the far south Torres Del Paine National Park is one of the most beautiful, unspoiled and remote places on earth. Easter Island lies 3,800km west of the mainland - this is where the mysterious Moai, gigantic stone figures up to 9m high can be found.
|
| Country Facts |
Chile is bounded to the north by Peru, to the east by Bolivia and Argentina, to the west by the Pacific and to the south by the Antarctic. It is a remarkably shaped ribbon of land, 2610 miles in length and nowhere more than 115 miles wide. The Andes and a coastal highland range take up one third or half of the width in parts, and run parallel with each other from north to south. The coastal range forms high, sloped cliffs into the sea from the northern to the central area. Between the ranges runs a fertile valley, except in the north where transverse ranges join the two major ones, and in the far south where the sea has broken through the coastal range to form an assortment of archipelagos and channels. The country contains wide variations of soil and vast differences of climate. The northern part of the country consists mainly of the Atacama Desert, the driest in the world. The south is forested, and contains some agriculture; further south the forests on the Atlantic side give way to rolling grassland on which sheep and cattle are raised. Chile exercises sovereignty over a number of islands off the coast, including the Juan Fernandez Islands, where Alexander Selkirk (the inspiration for Robinson Crusoe) was shipwrecked, and Easter Island. |