2. Geography Chile is only one of two countries that does not border Brazil. Chile’s coastline stretches a whopping 2,700 miles while on average it’s width is only 109 miles.
3. Geography The northern two-thirds of Chile lie on top of the telluric Nazca Plate, which, moving eastward about ten centimeters a year, is forcing its way under the continental plate of South America. This movement has resulted in the formation of the Peru-Chile Trench, which lies beyond a narrow band of coastal waters off the northern two-thirds of the country.
4. People People of Chile are called Chilean. People of Chile are called Chilean. Chilean’s are mainly of Spanish and Amerindian decent. Indigenous inheritance is predominant in rural areas, as well as in aspects of culture, such as Chilean cuisine and Chilean Spanish. Initially, post-independence immigrants did not comprise more than two percent of the total population, though this number has since increased to hundreds of thousands, including Chileans of German, British, French, Croatian, Italian or Palestinian descent.
5. People Additionally, some of the different ethnic groups from Europe intermarried therefore diluting the distinct cultures, descent and identities of the home countries and fusing them together with each other as well as with that of the original Basque-Castilian aristocracy of the colonial period while at the same time preserving elements of them, to form the society and culture of the Chilean middle and upper classes
6. Culture The folk culture of Chile has mostly Spanish origins, especially the huaso culture of the central part of the country, as it arose in the colonial period due to cattle ranching. It could therefore be considered an offshoot of Spanish popular culture of the 17th an 18th centuries as are the folk cultures of the rest of Latin America and also, its direct descendents, Andalusian and Castilian folk cultures. The Andalusian forms in the huaso dress is apparent to Europeans and the music and dances show Spanish origins, even though both have been adapted and are distinct from dress, music and dance in Spain today.
7. Culture National dance is the cueca and first appeared in 1824. In the period starting from 1930 to 1970 appears a rebirth in the interest and popularity in folk music in Chile carried out initially by groups such as Los Cuatro Huasos, who took folk songs from the Chilean country and arranged them vocally and with musical instruments. They gave several recitals in Chile and in Latin America that contributed with its diffusion.
8. History The first European to visit what is now Chile was the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who landed at Chiloé Island following his voyage, in 1520, through the strait that now bears his name. The region was then known to its native population as Tchili, a Native American word meaning "snow." At the same time of Magellan's visit, most of Chile south of the Rapel River was dominated by the Araucanians, a Native American tribe remarkable for its fighting ability. The tribes occupying the northern portions of Chile had been subjugated during the 15th century by the Incas of Peru.
9. History In 1535, after the Spanish under Francisco Pizarro had completed their conquest of Peru, Diego de Almagro, one of Pizarro's aides, led a gold-hunting expedition from that country overland into Chile. The expedition spent nearly three fruitless years in the country and then withdrew to Peru. Chile gained its independence in the 19th century. The prominent religion in Chile is Roman Catholic. Learning about other countries shows that every country has a history, no matter how big or small.
