Chile

Located in southern South America, Chile borders the countries of Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru.

Santiago is the capital.

Spanish is the official language.

Population, 19,637,517. Size, 756,626 km^2.

The Chilean Peso (CLP) is the official currency.

As with most of Latin America, Catholicism is the main religion in Chile since its introduction during the Spanish colonization of the Americas although their figures have declined significantly in the last decade.

Major cities include Puente Alto, Antofagasta, Viña del Mar, and Valparaíso.

Cazuela de Ave is the national dish, a soup made with chicken, beef or lamb, squash, corn cob or potatoes and is flavored with peppers, chili, and corn. Principal crops include grapes, apples, onions, wheat, corn, oats, peaches, garlic, asparagus, and beans.

Chile experiences mild southern hemispheric summers between November and January, with mean annual temperatures of 10°C-12°C, and wet winters between May and August, with precipitation of 72 millimeters to 90 mm per month.

The La Cueca, the official national dance, is a vibrant spectacle that brings to life the courtship ritual of a rooster and a hen. Due to its geographical location along the Pacific Ring of Fire, Chile has a reputation for being one of the world’s most earthquake-prone nations. On the 22nd of May, 1960, a devastating natural disaster struck the country, measuring a staggering magnitude of 9.5 on the Richter scale, the largest earthquake ever recorded. Tt is home to the world’s oldest mummies, known as the Chinchorro mummies. The Gran Torre Santiago claims the title of the tallest building in South America. Chile is one of the world’s longest countries along with Brazil. Chile’s mineral resources are a treasure trove, with abundant gold, silver, iron, coal, and lithium reserves. But the star of the show is copper, and the country takes the crown as the world’s leading exporter and supplier of this precious metal. One of the most captivating places in Chile is the Atacama Desert, which is widely recognized as the driest desert in the world. The official national drink is Pisco. The San Alfonso del Mar Resort in Algarrobo is the Guinness World Record holder for having the world’s largest swimming pool. The national sport of Chile is rodeo. Chile has earned a well-deserved reputation as one of the top wine-producing countries in the world. The Atacama Desert is renowned as one of the world’s best destinations for stargazing and observing the Milky Way. Chile claims the title of possessing the second-longest chain of volcanoes on the planet after Indonesia.