Top 50 Amazing Facts About Chile...
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in South America. It has an area
of 756,102 square km. Santiago is its capital and largest city. Spanish is its national
language and Peso is its official currency. Its three bordering countries are Argentina,
Peru, and Bolivia. With these 50 facts about Chile, let us learn about its history, geography,
people, culture, wildlife, environment, and much more.
1. Chile is the longest country in the world from north to south at 2,653 miles.
2. Ferdinand Magellan was the first European to set foot on what is now Chile. He visited
the land in 1520 during his attempt to circumnavigate the globe.
3. Monte Verde is the oldest-known site of human habitation in the Americas. The widely
accepted date for early occupation at Monte Verde is 16,500 B.C.
4. 16,000 fireworks were exploded in the Chilean city of Valparaiso in 2007. This remains a
Guinness World Record.
5. Chile is the world’s fifth-largest wine exporter, with 100 wineries.
6. Husbands and wives in Chile do not share a same, common last name. Wives use their
maiden names. The use of common last names for male and female counterparts is reserved
for brothers and sisters.
7. When greeting or leaving, cheek kisses are exchanged between men and women and between
women. Both the individuals gently touch cheek to cheek and send a kiss in the air. Men exchange
handshakes.
8. Chileans often reserve strong opinions out of politeness. Quickly asserting an opinion
is frowned upon.
9. One of the world’s lowest divorce rates is in Chile. Divorce was only legalized in
2005.
10. Pisco is Chile’s national drink. It is homegrown in the country and made with
a mixture of a few different ingredients. They use Coca-Cola to form Piscola. Lemon
juice, ice, sugar, and beaten egg whites are used to make Pisco sour, which is the most
common version of the national drink.
11. A variety of endangered candelabra cactus which can reach heights up to 5 m is found
in Chile. The country is home to more than 20 different types of cacti and succulents.
Interestingly, these plants survive on moisture absorbed from the ocean fog.
12. More than half of the country’s plants and animals are found nowhere on earth. Of
its 5,100 species of flora and fauna, more than 2,500 are endemic.
13. You can also find the world’s driest desert – the Atacama – in Chile. This
place has not seen even a single drop of rain since record-keeping began.
14. The largest anthropomorphic figure in the world is also located in Chile at Cerro
(119 m high).
15. Chile hosted the 1962 FIFA World Cup, and tennis is their most successful sport.
16. Fernando Gonzalez is a famous tennis player from Chile.
17. Since 1967, it is mandatory to hang the Chilean flag in a proper condition from every
public building. Failure to abide by the regulation can lead to fines of up to 40,000 pesos.
18. Chile’s Biblioteca Nacional (National Library), containing 1.8 million volumes,
is the largest national library of a Spanish-speaking country outside of Spain.
19. Many of Chile’s more than 1300 volcanoes can be active. 20. You can spot 4000-year-old
trees in Chile’s southern region. They are mostly of the amazingly long-lived Alerce
tree species. 21. The biggest earthquake ever recorded on earth, measuring 9.5 on the Richter
scale, hit Chile in 1900. The catastrophe killed more than 1500 people and left 2000
homeless.
22. Chile was hit by an earthquake again in 2010, this time with a magnitude of 8.8. However,
not many people were killed. At least 1.5 million people were displaced due to the natural
disaster, though. The country has strict building codes in urban areas to prevent loss of life
and property in such scenarios.
23. Puerto Williams in Chile is the southernmost village in the world. However, others dispute
this because of the town’s small size and population in favor of Ushuaia or Punta Arenas.
24. One of the highest lakes above sea level (4520 m), Lake Chungara, is in Chile. It is
the 31st highest lake in the world. 25. Chile is a conducive place for astronomical observations.
Astrologers from around the world come to the country to make their observations as
there are more than 300 nights of clear weather available in the Norte Grande part of Chile.
26. Chile gained independence from Spain on 18 September 1810.
27. In August 2010, the collapse of the San Jose mine in Chile caused the trapping of
33 miners 2000 feet below ground. Rigorous, safety-conscious efforts were made to successfully
retrieve the affected miners. A small borehole was drilled by rescuers to provide food, liquids,
lights, and send notes to and from the mine. All of the trapped miners were successfully
rescued after almost 70 days. 28. Chileans refer to their land as a “country
of poets.” They have two Nobel Prize winners in Literature: Gabriela Mistral – 1945,
(she is also depicted on 5,000 peso banknotes) and Pablo Neruda – 1971.
29. The world’s largest swimming pool is in Chile. It is 1000 yards long, 20 acres
in area and 115 feet deep. This giant pool holds 66 million gallons of seawater. Remember:
this was not a cheap pool to build. It took five years and one billion U.S. dollars; its
annual maintenance cost is close to two million U.S. dollars.
30. Penguins are found in Chile, in addition to Antarctica. With almost 12,000 breeding
pairs in the country, ‘Humboldt Penguins’ can be seen on the north coast of Chile.
31. At 6435 km in length, the Chilean coastline is one of the world’s longest. And it is
also one of the world's narrowest – with a width of just over 200 km.
32. Chile is home to the oldest ever known mummy. It was a ‘Chinchorro mummy’ found
in the Camarones Valley in 5050 BC. To date, 282 such mummies have been found in the country.
And you thought Egypt was the home to the world’s oldest mummies! 33. Chile has six
UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Churches of Chiloé, the Historic Quarter of the Seaport
City of Valparaíso, Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works, Rapa Nui National Park
and the Sewell Mining Town.
34. The region between the city of Calama and San Pedro de Atacama is called the ‘Moon
Valley.’ It is so-called because it resembles the ‘lunar landscape’ to a large extent.
35. Chile is almost devoid of poisonous snakes. There are only 2 species of snakes in Chile
and both are small and relatively harmless.
36. After Norway, Chile is the world’s second-largest producer of salmon. Nearly 60 Norwegian companies
are established in Chile.
37. Reportedly, numerous UFOs have been sighted in Chile. The government also sponsors research
on UFOs.
38. Chile has one of the highest rates of working hours in the world.
39. It is mandatory for employers and employees both to sign a working contract in the first
15 days of employment; otherwise, a fine is levied.
40. Employers in Chile also have the authority to dismiss their employees without any prior
indication and/or justification. However, if the employee is employed by the company
for more than 12 months, some compensation is to be made before the employee is fired.
41. Employees in Chile are entitled to a rest period between 9 pm on Saturdays to 6 am on
Mondays. Employees cannot be made to work on Sundays, as per the Chilean law, unless
exceptionally required.
42. Michael Jackson visited Chile On October 18, 1993, for the first and only time in his
lifetime.
43. It is one of the world’s largest producers of copper. 44. Santiago is one of the safest
large cities in Latin America.
45. Chile has the second-lowest homicide rate in the Americas after Canada. 46. Protective
clothing and heavy sunblock is required to avoid cancer-causing UV radiations, particularly
in the Patagonia region in Chile and Argentina. The region is located at the southern tip
of South America. The area occasionally comes under the influence of ozone-depleted air
masses from the Antarctic polar vortex which causes enhanced exposure to UV radiation from
the sun.
47. In 2003, an extraordinary discovery of a hidden whale nursery in Chile was made by
scientists. There was a particular place where whales go in large numbers to rear their young
and to feed. The blue whale is the largest mammal on earth and is nearing extinction
due to global commercial whaling activities.
48. In 2008, Chile declared a permanent ban on whaling in its waters.
49. Vicuna, the smallest member of the camelid family is found in Chile. It has a slender
body; a long neck; thin legs; and long, silky fur. It is a reddish-brown on its uppersides
and white on its undersides.
50. The Chilean flamingo is a tall, large-bodied bird with a long neck and small head. All
flamingos feed with their bills upside-down. Their beautiful pink plumage comes from the
carotenoid pigments they consume as a part of their diet. Their upper bill is shorter
than their lower bill. It is interesting to note here that their fossil records date back
to 10,000 years ago.
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