Info about Chile
Chile
Chile is a land of great beauty and thrilling contrasts. It has attractions that include the volcanic peaks of the Andes Mountains to the forests of ancient times in the Lake District. Child has very many good parks in this district and there is ample opportunity for adventure travel. Chile is a famous vacation spot for nature travel vacations. It is one of the most popular in South America.
For people who love geography, Chile as always is still a land of surprise. It is over 2700 miles long and lies along the Pacific coast. It is about as long as it is from New York to California. However, it is no more than 150 miles wide at any point. It is many times longer than it is wide.
The Andes Mountains form a wall along Chile that is almost impassable. The mountains are still getting higher and there are over 50 active volcanoes in the range. The western border of the country is the Pacific Ocean. A common misunderstanding is that Chile is only a steep slope of mountain peaks. Following the length of the mountains and the ocean is a narrow depression. The Atacama Desert is found in the arid north. It is the area that is most unfriendly to visitors. In the south the opposite happens. The land forms an archipelago between the mountains and the ocean. This area is known as Patagonia. Cape Horn is the southernmost point. It is a very dangerous headland that almost constantly has stormy seas. The only passage through this area, Strait of Magellan is very rough crossing.
The country’s center is a vast, long river valley. It runs five hundred miles and has vineyards and huge farms in the north, but that changes to very old forests and beautiful lakes in the south. The capital, Santiago ties the northern, most prosperous area, to the center valley.
There are two national parks in Chile. About 340 miles off the coast of Chile is the national park of Juan Fernandez Islands. Easter Island is much further, about 3700 km away.
The climate of Chile is just as different as the geography. However, other than the extreme temperatures in the Andes Mountains and in the Atacama Desert, most of the country has a very comfortable temperature.
Chile’s people are mostly mestizos. These people are the result of marriage between Spanish colonists and the indigenous people. There are about one hundred thousand indigenous people who still live in the forest areas of the Lake District. There are also many immigrants who live in Chile that include a minority for almost every European country. Basques and Palestinians are very numerous. The large proportion of mestizos has made race an insignificant issue compared to the social class of people. Even in today’s world social class is still a point of tension. Most of the people live in the central valley. The country’s official language is Spanish but some of the Indian dialects are still spoken.