Chile

Chile Map, Physical Map of Chile, Andes Mountains, Chile Cities  Map of Chile, Outline Map of South America, Chile Maps, Chile South America

Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow coastal strip wedged between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. It borders Peru, Bolivia and Argentina. It is one of only two countries in South America that does not have a border with Brazil. The Pacific forms the country's entire western border, with a coastline that stretches over 6,435 kilometers. Chilean territory extends to the Pacific Ocean which includes the overseas territories of Juan Fernández Islands, the Salas y Gómez islands, the Desventuradas Islands and Easter Island located in Polynesia. Chile claims 1,250,000 km² of territory in Antarctica.

Chile's unusual, ribbon-like shape — 4,300 km long and on average 175 km wide — has given it a hugely varied climate, ranging from the world's driest desert in the north, through a Mediterranean climate in the centre, to a snow-prone Alpine climate in the south. The northern Chilean desert contains great mineral wealth, principally copper. The relatively small central area dominates the country in terms of population and agricultural resources. This area also is the cultural and political center from which Chile expanded in the late 19th century, when it incorporated its northern and southern regions.

Prior to the coming of the Spanish in the 16th century, northern Chile was under Inca rule while the indigenous Araucanians inhabited central and southern Chile. Although Chile declared its independence in 1810, decisive victory over the Spanish was not achieved until 1818. In the War of the Pacific (1879-83), Chile defeated Peru and Bolivia and won its present northern regions. It was not until the 1880s that the Araucanian Indians were completely subjugated. The country, which had been relatively free of the coups and arbitrary governments that blighted the South American continent, endured a 17 year military dictatorship (1973-1990), one of the bloodiest in 20th-century Latin America that left more than 3,000 people dead and missing.

Currently, Chile is one of South America's most stable and prosperous nations. Its status as the region's richest country in terms of GDP per capita is however countered by its high level of income inequality, as measured by the Gini index.