by Dan Evon

Created on: September 17, 2009

Chile stretches from the Andeas mountains down to what some refer to as the end of the world. For nearly three thousand miles Chile stretches down the west coast of South America along the Pacific Ocean. Past mountain ranges with active volcanoes, through the driest desert in the world, and past glorious beaches. This thin strip of land is as versatile as it is long.

GEOGRAPHY

Chile holds some interesting geographical records. With an average width of one hundred miles, Chile is the narrowest country in the world. It is also home to the southern most city Punta Arenas, and the southern most village, Puerto Williams. The southern tip of Chile is only 400 miles from Antarctica and infact owns a small portion of the frozen tundra. The northern side of Chile is covered by the Atacama Desert, the driest place on earth. The desert receives less then a millimeter of rain a year, and in some parts of the desert may have never experienced any significant rain fall.

EASTER ISLAND

A small Polynesian island, annexed from Chile in 1888, lays to the west of the narrow country in the Pacific Ocean. Easter Island is home to one of the most spectacular, and mind boggling sights in the world. Almost 1000 moai are scattered about the island. The moai, are large stone sculptures created by the Rapa Nui anywhere from 1000 to 1650 CE.

SPORTS

Chile, unlike many of the other countries in South America, has an unusual taste for tennis . Although soccer is also popular among Chileans, tennis is where Chile gets most of it's acclaim. They have won two gold medals at the Olympics for tennis. This is a feat that many other developing countries have not achieved.

LITERATURE

Chile has won two Nobel Prizes for literature. Gabriela Mistrel won in 1945, and Pablo Neruda won in 1971. Pablo Neruda wrote that the landscape of Chile was invented by a poet.

ECONOMY

Chile is one of the worlds fastest developing nations. The city Chile Le Serena has grown thirty percent in the past thirty years. Tourism also continues to grow due to Chile's diverse landscape. Chile exports a number of goods, but their most profitable is Copper. Nearly 1/5 of the worlds copper comes from Chile.

INTERESTING EXTRAS

Chilean people greet each other with kisses on the cheek.

There is no divorce law in Chile.

Chileans often work a 6 day week before they carrete, or party.

A popular drink in Chile is called the pisco sour. It is a foamy drink that is made with brandy, lemon juice. powdered sugar, and egg white.

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