Chile

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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.