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general information
State structure: presidential republic. The highest legislative body is National Congress, consisting of 2 chambers: the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies; supreme executive body yavl. The Cabinet of Ministers is headed by the President, who, since 2006, has been elected by popular vote for a 4-year term, without the right of re-election for a second term. The current president is (Spanish: Sebastián Piñera Echenique). For a complete list of Chilean presidents, see.
In territorial and administrative terms, the state is divided into 15 regions (Regiones).
State Language: The official language of Chile is Spanish. Many residents who speak Spanish continue to communicate with each other in German and Araucano; by the way, most Chileans speak English quite well. Also spoken here are Mapudungun (Mapuche language), Aymara (in the northern region of the country) and Rapa Nui (in the Polynesian Easter Island area).
P.S. Chileans speak Spanish very quickly and incomprehensibly, often swallowing the last letters of words, and they also like to include the English-style ending “s” in plural meanings. In addition, slang terms and expressions are often used in everyday life, which even native speakers of traditional Spanish do not understand without explanation.
Religion: The dominant religion is Catholicism: more than 70% of the population are adherents of the Roman Catholic Church. In addition to Catholics, there are quite influential groups of Protestants (about 15% of the population), there are also believers professing Judaism (1.06%), Mormons (0.92%) and representatives of other religions. 4.4% of Chileans identify themselves as atheists.
Currency: State currency: (CLP).
Favorite sports games: Football is almost everything in Chile. Every local resident is simply obliged to have their favorite football team (in 60% of cases it is Universidad de Chile); sports such as rugby, tennis, running, cycling, etc. are also quite popular.
Population
The population of the state is about 18.05 million people, which are evenly distributed along the entire length of the country. The main concentration of the population is concentrated in the central regions: in the cities of Santiago, Concepcion, Valparaiso, Viña del Mar, Antofagasta, Temuco, etc.
Chileans of the 21st century. consist of 3 main groups: Spanish-speaking Chileans; immigrants and their descendants from the countries of America, Europe and Asia who arrived here in the 20th century; indigenous Indian peoples.
It is also necessary to mention the Polynesians - Rapanui (Easter) - the indigenous inhabitants of the island. Easter.
The racial composition of Chile's population is approximately as follows: about 25% of the inhabitants belong to the white race (descendants of Spaniards, Italians, Germans), almost 70% are mestizos - descendants of mixed marriages of Indians with whites, indigenous Indians make up about 6.6%.
The national composition of immigrants is very diverse, but Spaniards and Italians predominate. In recent decades, immigrants have mainly arrived here from neighboring countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Peru.
Most of Chile's population is employed primarily in mining, agriculture and fishing.
Chileans have an average of 10 years of education, the country has one of the lowest illiteracy rates in the entire continent (no more than 4%), and the country boasts two Nobel Prize winners in literature: (Spanish: Gabriela Mistral) and (Spanish: Pablo Neruda). Average life expectancy is 79 years, with low rates of infant mortality (7.9%) and malnutrition.
The most characteristic physical attributes of local residents include a fairly dark skin tone, average height (160 cm for women and 170 cm for men) and black thick hair.
Excursion into history
Before the Spanish invasion, the territory of Chile was inhabited by numerous nomadic Indian tribes. The most powerful and influential tribes were the Araucans or Mapuches, inhabiting the Central part. Being very independent and warlike, they were the only major Indian tribal association of Indians that did not submit to the Spanish crown. Only at the end of the 19th century. the Spanish conquistadors managed to push them into the southern forests and force them to submit.
The first attempt to conquer the country dates back to 1535, when the Spanish adelantado (Spanish: Diego de Almagro), a comrade (Spanish: Francisco Pizarro) of the conqueror of Peru, led a military expedition, leading it through the glaciers of the Andes. The Spaniards reached the Central Valley of the country, but not finding treasures and encountering desperate resistance from the Araucans, they returned to Peru.
In 1540, Pizarro sent his lieutenant (Spanish Pedro de Valdivia) to conquer Chile, who on February 12, 1541 founded the city of Santiago on the banks of the Mapocho River (Spanish Río Mapocho), making it the capital of the Spanish colony, which was home to about 1000 Spaniards. Then, moving further south, Valdivia founded several more cities, incl. (Spanish: Concepción) and Valdivia. In 1553, Pedro de Valdivia was captured and executed by Indians led by the Araucanian leader Lautaro (Spanish: Lautaro). Lautaro became the hero of Chilean legends and went down in history thanks to the heroic-epic poem “Araucana” by the Spanish conquistador and poet Alonso de Ercilla y Zúñiga (Spanish: Alonso de Ercilla y Zúñiga, 1533-1594)
There was too little gold in Chile to attract large numbers of settlers from Europe. The colonists were engaged in growing wheat; cattle ranches, vineyards and orchards also provided good income. Gradually the Spaniards penetrated south to the river. Bio-Bio and through the Andes chain to the east, into the territory of what is now Argentina. In 1778, the colony was given the status of captaincy general; the captain general was appointed personally by the King of Spain.
Despite the territorial isolation, the country experienced steady population growth. Many of the Catalans or Basques who settled here formed an influential class of landowning aristocrats, which to this day plays an important role in the political and cultural life of the state. Since, according to the laws, all trade was conducted through Peru, there were illegal contacts with English and Dutch smugglers who reached here through the Strait of Magellan.
One adventure from the life of smugglers served as the basis for Defoe's novel about Robinson Crusoe: the case of the Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk, thrown by a storm onto the uninhabited islands of the Juan Fernandez archipelago. The flow of smuggling decreased somewhat when the country gained the right to trade with the rest of the Spanish colonies.
When Napoleon overthrew King Ferdinand VII in 1808, the country was still a Spanish colony. On July 14, 1810, the Chilean Creoles rebelled, removing the Spanish protege and installing a Creole aristocrat as governor, and in September the National Government Junta was formed. After 4 years of rebellion and anarchy, the Peruvian viceroy regained control over Chile, but she had already tasted freedom.
Chile includes various geographical zones: valleys, desert, fjords, glaciers, archipelagos and islands.
By latitude, the entire territory is divided into 3 regions, sharply different from each other in the structure of the relief and climatic conditions:
- Desert region in the north, where the peaks of the Andes are highest;
- Middle China is a high-mountain region of the Central Andes, where the northern mountain plateau turns into a valley almost 1 thousand km long. and 40-80 km wide, is the most densely populated region of the country;
- Southern China is the foothills of the Southern Andes, a zone of hills covered with dense forests, and a system of narrow straits and rocky islands in the far south. Almost 80% of the continental territory of Chile is occupied by mountains, there are about 600 volcanoes (this is 1/10 of the number of all volcanoes on Earth), of which 47 are active, so earthquakes are very frequent here. The highest point of the country is considered to be (Spanish: Volcano Ojos del Salado; 6.9 thousand m), located on the border with Argentina.
Rivers and lakes
All rivers originate in either the Andes or the Coastal Cordillera and flow into the Pacific Ocean. Most rivers are quite short. The most important rivers of the country include: Loa (Spanish: Río Loa) - the longest (440 km) Chilean river, (Spanish: Río Bío Bío, 380 km) - the second largest river, Elqui (Spanish: Río Elqui, 170 km) and etc. For more information about the rivers of Chile, see.
Most of the lakes, predominantly of tectonic-glacial origin, are located in the picturesque “Lake District”, in the valleys and foothills of the Andes in southern Chile. Buenos Aires or General Carrera (Spanish: Lago General Carrera, area 1.9 thousand km²), the largest lake of glacial origin, is located on the border of Chile and Argentina (the eastern part of the lake belongs to Argentina).
Lake Llanquihue (Spanish: Lago Llanquihue, area 840 km²), the second largest, is entirely within Chilean territory. In the central part there are high-altitude freshwater lakes and coastal salt lakes, into which sea waters penetrate during high tides. Table salt is mined in coastal lakes, for example, in Lake Bucalemu (Spanish: el Lago Bucalemu) near Valparaiso. In the north of the country, virtually all lakes are drainless and salty (so-called “salar”, Spanish Salar).
"Lake Region" in the foothills of the Andes
In addition to the main, continental part, the state includes several groups of coastal islands and islands located at a considerable distance from the mainland: the western part of the island "" (Spanish: Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego), Easter Island, the Juan Fernandez archipelago, Wellington Island (Spanish: Isla Wellington), etc. The islands of Chile have long attracted tourists from all over the world. For example, a Scottish sailor (Alexander Selkirk, 1676-1721), who became the prototype of the well-known Robinson, spent 4 years and 4 months (1704-1709) on a desert island (Spanish Isla Mas a Tierra, now the island of Robinson Crusoe). Easter Island is famous for its colossal stone figures erected by unknown masters of ancient civilization.
Territorial distribution of population
About 9/10 of the country's inhabitants live in the area between the cities (Spanish: Puerto Montt) and Coquimbo (Spanish: Coquimbo), accounting for less than a third of the total area of the state. Most of the population is concentrated around the capital, where natural conditions are favorable for the development of agriculture.
Almost 2/3 of the state's population lives in Central Chile, north of the Bio-Bio River. In most of the Central Valley (between the cities of Santiago (Spanish: Santiago) and Concepción, the rural population density reaches 50 people/1 km². In the Metropolitan Region, the population density exceeds 355 people/1 km².
There are large cities here (Santiago, Valparaiso, Concepcion), where government agencies, financial, scientific and educational centers are located. Most of the fertile arable land is concentrated here. The majority of industrial state enterprises are located in the capital and its environs. enterprises. The overpopulation of the central regions led, in particular, to the fact that immigrants began to settle in the forest areas south of Bio-Bio, which for a long time remained under the control of the Araucanians, the indigenous Indian tribes. The growth of such settlements accelerated significantly due to the fact that the country's government began to implement a policy of supporting colonists engaged in agriculture.
Santiago
The southern third of the state is sparsely populated, the existing population is mainly concentrated near the eastern part of the Strait of Magellan, in the area (Spanish: Punta Arenas), the southernmost city of all major cities on the planet. Almost 7% of the population lives in 3 regions of Northern Chile (Tarapaca, Antofagasta and Atacama), whose area is about 1/3 of the territory. The Atacama Desert region is inhabited by about 1 million people living in small mining and port towns. Most of the local population consists of workers and specialists recruited under contract in Central Chile. Also in the northern regions live specialists from around the world who work in copper mines.
Nature and climate
Chile is a completely unique country in terms of climate and nature. It stretches from south to north along the entire South American continent. Such an unusual extent allows the state to have almost all natural and climatic zones existing on the globe, with the exception of the humid tropics.
The north is characterized by a predominant tropical desert climate, where average monthly temperatures range from +12 °C (mid-May-August) to +26 °C (December-mid-March). To the south, the climate becomes subtropical, with summer temperatures ranging from +22-24°C, and winter temperatures around +12-18°C. The weather is similar on the Easter and Juan Fernandez islands.
The central part is dominated by a temperate oceanic climate, with temperatures ranging from +3-15°C in winter to +25°C in summer. In the south, the climate is humid, subtropical, with heavy rainfall. In the north, in the Atacama Desert, there are places that have not seen a drop of precipitation for centuries. There are other areas in the Atacama where short periods of winter rainfall produce an incredible burst of blooms in the spring, a natural phenomenon known as the Desert Bloom. The coast of this part of the country is characterized by a temperate climate.
As the altitude increases, the daytime temperature increases, while the nighttime temperature decreases. In the area, even in summer, night temperatures can drop below 0°C. In summer, a natural phenomenon called "Bolivian winter", which is characterized by sudden severe thunderstorms with hail.
To the south, delightful Mediterranean landscapes prevail with a mild climate, dry, warm summers and rainy winters: in summer (December-February) the average air temperature is + 28°C, in winter + 10°C. The coast is usually cloudy, humid and windy, and can be colder than inland areas.
Vast areas of this zone are covered with lush virgin forests. From May to August, the rainy season lasts in the interior regions of Chile; in the mountainous regions, precipitation, regardless of the season, falls more evenly; here the climate is rainy and cool. Strong winds often blow on the coast and in the Patagonian pampa. In the high mountainous regions of the state it is much colder: in some places the temperature even in summer does not rise above +3°C, and in winter it drops to −27°C.
The further south you go, the less precipitation and lower temperatures you get. The climate of the Antarctic part of Chile is polar, with frequent heavy snowfalls.
In the area of the Strait of Magellan and on the island of Tierra del Fuego, the climate is polar, in winter temperatures range from −16 to −4 °C, in summer temperatures do not exceed +18 °C. Even in summer, strong winds prevail here, fog and rain are common, and unpredictable sudden changes in weather are observed. It is cold in the mountains and there is heavy rainfall.
On Easter Island and the islands of the Juan Fernandez archipelago, the climate is subtropical, mild, with moderate humidity, pleasant temperatures and little difference between the seasons.
Largest cities
Chile is one of the longest countries in the world, so the distances between northern and southern cities can reach several thousand kilometers. Due to the very long coastline, many cities are ports.
It is considered one of the most urbanized Latin American countries. For example, in 2010, about 89% of the population lived in cities, and more than half of the inhabitants lived in the central regions of Santiago and Valparaiso.
| Name | Population |
|---|---|
| (Spanish Santiago) | 6.2 million |
| (Spanish: Viña del Mar) | 322.2 thousand |
| (Spanish: Valparaíso) | OK. 300 thousand |
(Spanish: Puerto Montt) Flora and faunaThe vegetation of the country varies depending on the climate zone. In the north, where the Atacama Desert is located, all kinds of cacti and thorns predominate. In Central Chile, subtropical vegetation predominates (evergreen forests and shrubs). In the south, the mountain slopes turning into valleys are covered with densely growing beech and coniferous forests, and Chilean pine trees appear here. The Central Plains is home to Copihue, a vibrant red flower with a bell-shaped cup that has become the national flower. Then the landscape gives way to the jungle, where beech, magnolia, laurel and several types of coniferous trees grow. In the far south there are steppes covered with forbs. The fauna of Chile is not as rich as in other Latin American countries, since the Andes ridges, forming a natural barrier, prevent the natural migration of animals. The most common mammals here are alpaca, llama, vicuña, two types of deer, guanaco, puma, wolf, chinchilla, otter, nutria, and skunk. Birds are represented quite widely; even ostriches are found here. In rivers and lakes, except for introduced trout, there are almost no freshwater fish. Due to the proximity of the Humboldt Current, coastal Pacific waters are rich in fish and other marine life, which in turn support a wide variety of waterfowl, including various species of penguins. Whales are also found in abundance: about six (!) species of whales live off the coast. Chile is a country of wonders!
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Officially the country is called the Republic of Chile. This state was founded by Spanish colonialists in the early 16th century. But since no mineral resources were found in this territory, the lands were of no particular importance to the colonialists in the future. But still, Chile is a rather unique country with a very original nature.
Geographical characteristics
The Republic of Chile is located in the southwest of the South American continent, and occupies a narrow strip of continent between the Pacific Ocean and the Andean ridge. In the east, the country borders on the prairies of Argentina. To the north, Chile borders Peru and Bolivia.
The coastal line has a length of 6435 km. The space of the Pacific Ocean along the state was called the Chilean Sea. The water space of this sea belongs to the country.
After many years of military conflicts in the 19th century, diplomatic relations were established between Chile and Peru. The border between the states is only 168 km, and it is around the border area that disputes between states have been going on for many years.
Nature
Stretched along the ocean coast, Chile allows those who visit it to see the snow-capped mountains in the south, close to the shores of Antarctica. And in the north the climate is close to tropical. This feature of the country arouses the interest of tourists, which makes it possible to develop tourism. One of the highest mountains in the territory of the Chilean Republic is Ojos del Salado (the highest point 6893 m) and is located on the border with Argentina, it is the second highest peak in South America after Mount Aconcagua, located in Argentina...
There are many rivers in the territory, but they are all quite short. The longest is Loa, which has a length of 440 km. Most of the rivers belong to the basins of the Pacific Ocean, but only Loa reaches the ocean itself, and many rivers are characterized only by temporary flows during the summer rainy season...
In the western part of the country, the territory is washed by the Pacific Ocean, and the length of the coast is more than 6 thousand km. Thanks to the Humboldt Current, the waters of the Chilean coast are quite cool, but near the coast the water is pleasant and warm, which also attracts tourists...
Chile is characterized by xerophytic vegetation, many varieties of shrubs and coniferous or laurel forests. Some areas are rich in cactus and cereal flora.
The fauna is quite scarce and not very diverse. Wolves and chinchillas can be found, and there are also some deer and pumas in the forests. There are unique species of cats that are considered dangerous predators.
Among the most popular birds are the Chilean eagle and flamingo, which are somewhat different from their counterparts in other countries...
In the northern part the climate is tropical, while other parts are temperate continental, and the elongated shape of the state allows it to occupy several climatic zones in different parts of the country. Thus, here you can find both rich deciduous forests and a desert part with classic nature and a hot climate...
Resources
The country is rich in copper and mineral deposits, and iron ore occupies a special place among minerals. There are quite a lot of industries in the country that belong to the food industry, as well as various sawmills and woodworking enterprises. The development of agriculture is of great importance for the state economy...
Culture
The population is approximately 16.8 million, including Spanish-speaking Chileans, as well as Europeans and Asians who emigrated in the 20th century. The indigenous peoples are Indian peoples with corresponding cultural traditions, and there is also a fairly large number of Polynesians. The cultural characteristics of the state combine the combination of Spanish culture with local culture, with Spanish motifs predominant. Thus, the culture combines Polynesian, Indian and Spanish...
MOSCOW, September 23 – RIA Novosti, Tatyana Pichugina. During storms around the world, dozens of dead marine animals, sometimes very strange ones, wash ashore. Due to decomposition, lack of tissue, and skeleton, even specialists often cannot identify them, and human imagination creates mysterious creatures that have so far eluded our eyes. “This is a monster”, “It is covered with fur”, “It looks alive” - this is the first reaction of eyewitnesses. RIA Novosti's selection includes the most mysterious monsters thrown up by the ocean.
Centennial Globster
In July 2003, a huge shapeless organic mass washed ashore on the coast of Chile and spread across the ground. The dimensions were amazing: the length of the terrible “jelly” was 12 meters, weight – 13 tons. World media headlines trumpeted: “Chilean Globster Baffles Scientists.”
A globster is an unidentified carcass washed up by the sea. In the old days, before the development of genetic methods, it was difficult to determine the species of an animal, so globsters served as a source of inspiration for cryptozoologists - amateur enthusiasts looking for creatures unknown to science, like Bigfoot and aliens tortured by the American military.
The Chilean Globster was lucky. It was visited by employees of the local marine mammal research center and visually determined that it was probably the carcass of a whale.
Then scientists from the USA and New Zealand, led by Sidney Pierce, took a sample of organic matter from the carcass and conducted a histological analysis. DNA was restored using the polymerase chain reaction. The results showed that these are definitely the tissues of a sperm whale, and not, for example, a squid.
A few years earlier, Pierce became famous for solving two mysteries at once - the "Bermuda blob", found in 1988, and the "St. Augustine monster", washed up on a Florida beach in 1896.
The tissues of the “Monster of St. Augustine” were stored in scientific laboratories for a hundred years. Many researchers have tried to determine the type of creature, suspecting it to be a giant squid. Pierce, using modern methods, established that these were the remains of a warm-blooded vertebrate animal, like the carcass of the "Bermuda blob".
Log with tentacles
A strong earthquake of magnitude 7.8 in New Zealand, which occurred on November 14, 2016, exposed part of the seabed along with its inhabitants. Most quickly crawled away on their own into their familiar aquatic environment, but the huge two-meter-tall creature covered with tentacles remained. A month later, local residents found him.
The object was in terrible condition, it was still moving and smelled terrible. Scientists were called to the scene, who quickly found out that in front of them were myriads of barnacles of the species Lepas anatifera, clinging to a log.
Balanuses love to attach themselves to the bottoms of ships and debris and thus travel across the ocean. The muscles with which crustaceans hold onto the surface can stretch almost a meter.
Hairy monster from Kamchatka
In August of this year, after a strong storm, a strange carcass twice the height of a man, covered with wool, washed up on the shore of Kamchatka.
A local resident posted photos of the sea monster on social networks, recorded a video on YouTube and asked everyone to find out what kind of creature it was. It has been suggested that the remains belong to a woolly mammoth or a giant squid.
KamchatNIRO employees refuted these speculations and reported that the photo shows the carcass of a whale or a huge shark, which, in the process of decomposition, lost its fat layer and was overgrown with marine organisms.
Pink wiggle jelly
This week, on September 17, another “monster” was discovered on the coast of New Zealand, north of Auckland. The family that found him was amazed at the size and color of the creature, which looked like a giant jellyfish.
Photos of the find were sent to the media and scientists from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA). The “monster” turned out to be a hairy cyanide, the largest jellyfish known on Earth.
Cyanea lives in the Arctic seas, the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean. Its dome reaches two meters in diameter, and its tentacles, studded with stinging cells, are more than twenty meters in length. This dangerous predator swims in the open sea and never voluntarily approaches the shore.
Chile is an interesting country and remarkable for its local color of nature and the mentality of the inhabitants of this country. The unusualness of its location is its length along the Pacific coast for 4329 kilometers, with a width of only 170 kilometers, which determines the extraordinary diversity of the landscapes of this country. The nature of Chile is diverse: the lifeless Atacama Desert is replaced by the central part of the country and southern regions with forests, lakes and volcanoes. Chile owns more than ten large islands in the Pacific Ocean. The mysterious Easter Island, the legendary island of Robinson Crusoe - all this is Chile. It is not surprising that tourists from all over the world flock here. The most attractive are the ski slopes and numerous beaches of Chile, located on the southern coast, where Mediterranean landscapes and a mild climate predominate.
The beach season here lasts from September to February, and the air temperature reaches 28°C. Viña del Mar is the main tourist center and the most famous resort on the Pacific coast. This is a stunningly beautiful city, with white sand beaches and coastal cliffs on which hotels and hotels are located. There are also magnificent SPA centers and entertainment complexes located here. Parks, museums and promenades harmoniously blend into the natural splendor, and further from the coast you can admire lakes located in forested areas. Most beautiful beaches of Chile are located in the city of Arica and are considered the cleanest on the entire coast, which is due to the complete absence of industry in this region. The largest number of tourists are concentrated here. Thanks to the infrastructure and flat landscape, this place is ideally suited for a family holiday with children. Due to its proximity to the Peruvian border, trade relations are especially developed here, which contributes to profitable shopping. Arica has a developed leisure industry and has an observation deck that offers beautiful views of the whole of Chile. 
De Anakena beach is the most popular on Easter Island. With white sand and palm trees along the coast, it has the historical legend that King Hoto Matua came ashore here. Picnics for tourists are often held here. Punta de Lobos is a famous stone beach located in the town of Pichilemu. Here you can not only enjoy the sea air and sun, but also admire the seals reclining on rocky ledges. It is worth noting that in this city all entertainment is concentrated on the coast. The beach infrastructure is arranged according to all the rules: showers, changing cabins, toilets, parking for cars. There are excellent surfing conditions and a viewpoint on the south side. This city is also famous for Infiernillo beach with picturesque landscapes. And fishing lovers will love the Playa Hermosa beach, famous for its extraordinary bite and variety of catch. The Balneario Municipal beach located in the Antafagasta region has a particularly high rating. Playa Principal beach combines gently sloping water with golden sand and rocky outcroppings plunging into the ocean. 
Beaches Playa Grande, Playa Miramar, De la Serena, Chinchorro, Playa Las Salinas, La Herradura,PlayaElQuisco,
PlayaLasSalinas,
BalnearioCovadonga,
CaletaCamarones,
Cartagena,
PlayaAcapulco ,
PlayaCochoa,
PlayaElEncanto,
Caleta Abarca– all this diversity for beach lovers is provided by the Pacific coast of Chilean cities. There are many hotels and inns on the coast that welcome guests and tourists. Most of the beaches here are public, offering their infrastructure free of charge. Only a few hotels in the Delux and Luxury categories offer a private beach with sun loungers, umbrellas and towels. But since the main feature of the coast is the high environmental friendliness of the areas and cleanliness, the predominant number of public beaches should not become an obstacle to visiting them. The main thing is to be careful and not leave valuables unattended, since theft is, alas, not uncommon here.
