From Wiki Globe
| Quick Facts
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| Location
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| Flag
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| Capital
| Santiago
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| Language
| Spanish
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| Internet TLD
| .cl
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| Religion
| Roman Catholic 70%, Protestant 15,1%, Jewish NEGL%
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| Area
| total: 756,950 km2
land: 748,800 km2
water: 8,150 km2
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| Population
| 16,134,219 (July 2006 est.)
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| Government
| Republic
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| Currency
| Chilean peso (CLP)
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| Time Zone
| UTC-4
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Chile, officially the Republic of Chile is a country of southwest South America with a long
Pacific coastline, west of the continental divide of the Andes Mts. Chile is bordered by Peru on the north, Bolivia on the northeast, Argentina on the east, and the Pacific Ocean on the west and south. With Ecuador it is one of two countries in South America which do not border Brazil.
[edit] Understand
The Pacific coastline of Chile is 6,435 kilometres. Chilean territory includes the Pacific islands of Juan Fernández, Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas and Easter Island. Chile stretches c.2,880 mi (4,630 km) from near lat. Santiago is the capital and the largest city. Population: 16,300,000. Originally inhabited by Araucanian Indian peoples, it was colonized by Spain in 1541 and declared its independence in 1818. One of the most politically stable and economically prosperous of South American countries, Chile annexed mineral-rich territory from Bolivia and Peru following the War of the Pacific (1879-1884). Chile also claims a sector of Antarctica. The country is composed of three distinct and parallel natural regions-from east to west, the Andes, the central lowlands, and the Coast Ranges. The Chilean Andes contain many high peaks and volcanoes. The rivers of Chile are generally short and swift-flowing, rising in the well-watered Andean highlands and flowing generally west to the Pacific Ocean. Most of the population of Chile is a mestizo. Chile is mainly urban, with more than one third of the total population concentrated in and around Santiago and Vina Del. Chile's economy is based on the export of minerals, accounting for about half of the total export value. Copper is the nation's most valuable resource, and Chile is the world's largest producer. The Vale of Chile is the country's agricultural sector primary schools. Predominantly Roman Catholic. Spanish is the country's official language.
[edit] Regions
Map of Chile with regions colour coded
| | North (XV Arica-Parinacota, I Tarapacá, II Antofagasta, III Atacama, IV Coquimbo)
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| | Central (V Valparaíso, RM Metropolitana de Santiago, VI del Libertador General Bernardo, O'Higgins, VII del Maule)
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| | South (Biobío, Araucanía, Los Ríos, Los Lagos)
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| | Extreme South (XI Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo, XII Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena)
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[edit] Cities
