Chile -- School-age
Capital: Santiago
Due to its geographic location, Santiago is one of the few capital cities in the world which has easy access both to ski slopes and beaches.
Government
In 1988 the people of Chile were allowed to vote on whether the dictator of Chile General Augusto Pinochet should stay in office. Thepeople rejected him by a small majority. Elections where held in 1989 that returned Chile to civilian (nonmilitary) rule. Chile today has a democratic government.
The main leader of Chile is called the President. The President who serves a four-year term, is also the head of state and leader of the government. The President works with a bicameral Congress that legislates with a Senate and a Chamber of Deputies. The two main groups that makes laws are the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.
The judicial branch acts independently of the executive and legislative branches of government. It consists of a Supreme Court, Constitutional Tribunal, Court of Appeals, Family Courts, Local Police Courts, and military courts. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the nation. It has 21 judges called Ministers. The 21 judges elect the President of the Supreme Court. The members of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President from a list prepared by the sitting members of the court. The Chilean Civil Code passed in 1855. It is based on Europe laws and Spanish law.
Flag of Chile
Explorers
Ferdinand Magellan Portuguese explorer who led the first expedition that sailed around the Earth (1519-1522). Magellan also named the Pacific Ocean and discovered the Magellanic Islands including Tierra Del Fuego in 1520.
Ferdinand Magellan
Dagoberto Godoy Fuentealba a Chilean army lieutenant. He was the first person to fly across the Andes Mountains in 1918.
Climate
Desert in north; cool and damp in the south.
Land
Chile lies between the Pacific Ocean and the giant Andes Mountains on the South American continent. Chile stretches over 4,300 km (2,700 mi) along the southwestern coast of South America.
At the same time, its width never exceeds 240 km (150 mi), making the country more than eighteen times longer than its widest point. Chile is the longest and narrowest country on the planet.
Andes Mountains
Chile has one of the world's most dangerous coastlines and the Chilean navy operates one of the world's most active lighthouse services. Chile is among the top fishing countries in the world.
Chile is bordered on the east by the Andes Mountains and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. To the north the land becomes more arid, until one reaches the forbidding Atacama Desert, one of the most inhospitable regions on earth.
Atacama Desert
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In the center of the country is a long river valley, a five hundred mile corridor occupied in the north by vineyards and great farms and in the south by primeval forests and lakes. Santiago, the capital, is located in this central valley. It is a geological depression between the coastal range and the Andes Mountains, extending for about 400 miles (650 km).
Topographic map showing part of the Chilean Central Valley known as Pampa del Tamarugal.
To the south is the Chilean Patagonia a land of islands, glaciers, icebergs and mountains.
Cape Horn, the southernmost point in the Americas, where the Pacific and Atlantic oceans turbulently meet, is Chilean territory. Before the opening of the Panama Canal, ships sailed from the east coast to the west coast of North or South America via Cape Horn.
Chile also lays claim to the offshore territories of Easter Island, Juan Fernández, and half of the southern island of Tierra del Fuego (which it shares with Argentina). Chile's Easter Island is in the Pacific, far away from the Chilean coast. The island's strange ancient statues stand 30 feet (9 m) tall, but why they were built is a mystery.
Plants
Copihue
The National flower of Chile is the Copihue.
Includes the "Legend of the origin of the Copihue” and other National Chilean Symbols.
Chilean plant life includes stands of araucaria (the monkey-puzzle tree), cypress and rare alerce trees (similar to the giant redwoods of California).
Alerce Tree
Chile is the biggest exporter of copper ore and pitted fruits. Another export from Chile is fish fillets.
Chile’s exports by value was delivered to Asian countries (China, South Korea, India, Japan). Chile also exports to Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Germany, USA, Canada, Spain, and the Netherlands.
Chile Is Famous For
Chile is the longest and narrowest country on the planet.
Andes Mountains extend the entire length of Chile and is the longest continental mountain range in the world.
The Atacama Desert in Chile is the driest desert in the world.
Easter Island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean became a territory of Chile in 1888.
The Chinchorro mummies are the worlds oldest known mummies.
Things to Do
Read, color and learn Chile.
See Also
