Chile
Updated: Oct 2, 2022
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Country Name
Chile, and officially the Republic of Chile.
Location
Chile is located in western South America. It occupies a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west.
Capital
Santiago.
Reason for Naming the country
There are various theories about the origin of the word Chile.
The origin of the name “Chile” may derive from a Native American word -come from the indigenous Mapuche word- “chili,” meaning “where the land ends.”
It could also be based on the Mapuche imitation of a bird call that sounds like “cheele cheele."
Other theories say or from the Quechua chiri, "cold", or tchili, meaning either "snow" or "the deepest point of the Earth".
Flag
The flag of Chile was adopted on 18 October 1817.
It consists of two equal horizontal bands of white and red, with a blue square on the top of the left side which has a white five-pointed star.
The white color represents the Andes mountains, the Red represents the ones who fought for the nation’s independence, The Blue represents the sky and the ocean The star represents the powers of the government.
*Flag Facts:
- The flag of Texas is very similar to Chile’s flag.
- The Chilean flag has the nickname “La Estrella Solitaria.” In English, this means “The Lone Star.”
- Chile’s Flag Day is celebrated on July 9.
Language
Spanish is the official language. German is still spoken to some extent in southern Chile, either in the small countryside or as a second language in the larger cities.
Also, there are several indigenous languages spoken in Chile: such as Mapudungun, Quechua, Aymara, and Rapa Nui.
*The Spanish language accent varies very slightly from north to south; more noticeable are the differences in accent based on social class or whether one lives in the city or the country.
Religion
The major religion in Chile is Christianity.
The majority of Chileans are Roman Catholics, and a few are Protestants.
Around 25% of Chileans are religiously non-affiliated or state that religion is not important in their lives and it is one of the highest percentages in Latin America.
Chile also has a Bahá'í religious community and is home to the mother temple of the Bahá'ís for Latin America.
Currency
Peso.
Time Zone
Chile has 3 time zones
-04:00 to -06:00 GMT
-03:00 to -05:00 GMT Summer Time (DST).
Government Regime
Unitary presidential constitutional republic.
Climate
It is warm all year round. There is a very large daily range of temperate, up to 30 degrees Celsius.
Central Chile has a Mediterranean-type climate with long, hot summers and cool, wet winters.
The best seasons are spring, September-November, and fall, March-May.