Chile
Situated south of Peru and west of Bolivia and Argentina, Chile fills a narrow 1,800-mile (2,897 km) strip between the Andes and the Pacific. One-third of Chile is covered by the towering ranges of the Andes. In the north is the driest place on Earth, the Atacama Desert, and in the center is a 700-mile-long (1,127 km) thickly populated valley with most of Chile's arable land. At the southern tip of Chile's mainland is Punta Arenas, the southernmost city in the world, and beyond that lies the Strait of Magellan and Tierra del Fuego, an island divided between Chile and Argentina. The southernmost point of South America is Cape Horn, a 1,390-foot (424 m) rock on Horn Island in the Wollaston group, which belongs to Chile. Chile also claims sovereignty over 482,628 sq mi (1,250,000 sq km) of Antarctic territory; the Juan Fernández Islands, about 400 mi (644 km) west of the mainland; and Easter Island, about 2,000 mi (3,219 km) west.
| Capital: | Santiago |
| Government type: | Democratic Republic |
| Population: | 16,136,137 (July 2005 est.) |
| Languages: | Spanish 100% |
| Official Currency: | Chilean Peso (CLP)
Currency Exchange Rates |
| Climate: | temperate; desert in north; Mediterranean in central region; cool and damp in south. |
| Independence Day: | 18 September 1810 (from Spain) |
| Religion: | predominately Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 11% |
| Area: | total: 756,950 sq km |
| Country Dial Code: | 56 |


