Chile
Capital: Santiago · South America
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the Southern Cone of southwestern South America.
Photo: Luca Galuzzi ( Lucag ), CC BY-SA 2.5 · source
Three FCAB engines with a "bucket train" crossing the Salar de Ascotan (salt lake Ascotan) on their journey from Calama to Ollagüe (at the Bolivian border), Chile. The…
Photo: Kabelleger / David Gubler ( http://www.bahnbilder.ch ), CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Panoramic view of Chuquicamata , a state-owned copper mine located at 2,850 metres (9,350 ft) above sea level just outside Calama , north of Chile . It is by excavated…
Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Did you know?
Spain conquered and colonized the region in the mid-16th century, replacing Inca rule; however, they failed to conquer the autonomous tribal Mapuche people who inhabited what is now south-central Chile. Chile emerged as a relatively stable authoritarian republic in the 1830s after its 1818 declaration of independence from Spain. During the 19th century, Chile experienced significant economic and territorial growth, putting an end to Mapuche resistance in the 1880s and gaining its current northern territory in the War of the Pacific (1879–83) by defeating Peru and Bolivia.
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Theatro del Lago in Frutillar at Lake Llanquihue
Photo: Ermell, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Wreck of a former cargo ship carrying bagged sugar from Santos, Brazil, the CAPITÁN LEONIDAS - IMO 5427057, ran aground on April 7, 1968 in the fjords of Canal Messier…
Photo: Gordon Leggett, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Lycalopex culpaeus , A Culpeo or Andean Fox at the border between Bolivia and Chile.
Photo: Christian Mehlführer, User:Chmehl, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Etymology
There are various theories about the origin of the word Chile. According to 17th-century Spanish chronicler Diego de Rosales, the Incas called the valley of the Aconcagua Chili by corruption of the name of a Picunche tribal chief (cacique) called Tili, who ruled the area at the time of the Incan conquest in the 15th century. Another theory points to the similarity of the valley of the Aconcagua with that of the Casma Valley in Peru, where there was a town and valley named Chili.
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This image is in the public domain in the United States because it only contains materials that originally came from the United States Geological Survey , an agency of…
Photo: USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab from Beltsville,…, Public domain · source
Dry mud. Photograph taken in El Quisco , Chile.
Photo: Jorge Barrios, Public domain · source
Laguna Verde, Atacama, Chile
Photo: Lucash, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
History
Stone tool evidence indicates humans sporadically frequented the Monte Verde valley area as far back as 18,500 years ago. About 10,000 years ago, migrating Indigenous peoples settled in fertile valleys and coastal areas of what is present-day Chile. Settlement sites from very early human habitation include Monte Verde, Cueva del Milodón and the Pali-Aike Crater's lava tube.
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Una flor de la especie Tulipa (Tulipán) fotografiada tres días después de florecer (faltando un mes para la llegada de la primavera en el hemisferio sur). Santiago de…
Photo: Jorgebarrios, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
View through the roundhouse at Baquedano, Chile.
Photo: Kabelleger / David Gubler ( http://www.bahnbilder.ch ), CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Geography
A long and narrow coastal Southern Cone country on the west side of the Andes Mountains, Chile stretches over 4,300 km (2,670 mi) north to south, but only 350 km (217 mi) at its widest point east to west and 64 km (40 mi) at its narrowest point east to west, with an average width of 175 km (109 mi). This encompasses a large variety of climates and landscapes. It contains 756,950 square kilometers (292,260 sq mi) of land area. It is situated within the Pacific Ring of Fire. Excluding its Pacific islands and Antarctic claim, Chile lies between latitudes 17° and 56°S, and longitudes 66° and 75°W.
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View at dusk of two of the highlights in Valle de la Luna , the Great Dune in the foreground, and the Amphitheater in the background, San Pedro de Atacama , northern…
Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
FCAB engines Clyde GL26C no. 1452, EMD GR12U no. 1412 and Clyde G26C-2 no. 2001 climb the eastern approach of the Cumbre pass on their way from a copper mine to…
Photo: Kabelleger / David Gubler ( http://www.bahnbilder.ch ), CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Panoramic view of the Tara Cathedrals (left) and the Tara salt flat in the Atacama Desert , northern Chile .
Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Government and politics
The current Constitution of Chile was drafted by Jaime Guzmán in 1980 and subsequently approved via a national plebiscite—regarded as "highly irregular" by some observers—in September of that year, under the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. It entered into force in March 1981. After Pinochet's defeat in the 1988 plebiscite, the constitution was amended to ease provisions for future amendments to the Constitution. In September 2005, President Ricardo Lagos signed into law several constitutional amendments passed by Congress.
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Economy
The Central Bank of Chile in Santiago serves as the central bank for the country. The Chilean currency is the Chilean peso (CLP). Chile is one of South America's most stable and prosperous nations, leading Latin American nations in human development, competitiveness, globalization, economic freedom, and low perception of corruption. Since July 2013, Chile is considered by the World Bank as a "high-income economy".
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Demographics
Chile's 2024 census reported an enumerated population of 18,480,432. Its rate of population growth has been decreasing since 1990, due to a declining birth rate. By 2050 the population is expected to reach approximately 20.2 million people.
About 85% of the country's population lives in urban areas, with 40% living in Greater Santiago. The largest agglomerations according to the 2002 census are Greater Santiago with 5.6 million people, Greater Concepción with 861,000
and Greater Valparaíso with 824,000.
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Culture
From the period between early agricultural settlements and up to the late pre-Columbian period, northern Chile was a region of Andean culture that was influenced by altiplano traditions spreading to the coastal valleys of the north, while southern regions were areas of Mapuche cultural activities. Throughout the colonial period following the conquest, and during the early Republican period, the country's culture was dominated by the Spanish. Other European influences, primarily English, French, and German began in the 19th century and have continued to this day.
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