Chile

 


Take a quick tour around Chile with us, and learn some interesting facts about the country's geography, history and culture. Then scroll down for a complete set of our flag printables featuring the Chilean flag.

A view over Santiago, Chile's captial city
A view over Santiago, Chile's captial city

Learn about Chile

Chile's Geography:

  • The Republic of Chile is one of the longest and narrowest countries in the world, extending from Peru to the Pacific on the west side of South America.
  • The country contains a wide array of physical features from the Atacama desert in the north, which is the driest place on earth, to the glaciers of southern Patagonia.
  • The Andes, the longest mountain range in the world, runs down the inland spine, with peaks over 20,000 feet high.
  • Chile has over 600 volcanoes due to its location in the Pacific Ring of Fire.
  • Chile is biggest producer of copper in the world.The largest mine is called Escondida is 9000 feet above sea level.
  • Chile also claims a large territory in Antarctica which is twice the size of the rest of the country.

Map of Chile on South America
Map of Chile within South America. You can print the map here.

Chile's History

  • The north of Chile was part of the Inca empire until the Spanish arrived in the 16th century.
  • Mapuche indians lived in central Chile. They bravely resisted colonisation but had low resistance to smallpox. Today over 10% of Chileans are Mapuche.
  • Easter Island, over 2000 miles offshore, is home to the famous statues called 'moai'. Erected by Polynesians between 1200 -1500AD, the tallest of these stone heads is 33 feet tall and weighs 75 tons.

Moais statues at Easter Island, Chile
Just some of the moais (statues) at Easter Island, Chile

Chile's Capital City:

  • A third of the 16,500,000 population live around Santiago, the capital. It is a financial centre and many international companies close to locate in the business district, which also attracts major luxury retail brands.
  • Santiago has the most extensive metro system and the tallest skyscraper in Latin America. The Gran Torre de Santaigo is 300 metres high.
  • Smog can be a problem as air is trapped by the Andes.

Chilean Culture:

  • Bernardo O'Higgins was a national hero involved in the successful struggle for independence from Spain in 1810,  although it took 7 years struggle to succeed.
  • On Independence Day, September 18th, families celebrate Chilean culture at 'fiestas patrias' where they like to eat 'empanadas', meat stuffed pastries.
  • With over 3000 miles of coastline, Chileans enjoy visits to beaches, surfing and are very fond of seafood.
  • Valle Nevado is the largest ski resort in the southern hemisphere and hosts the Snowboard World Cup.
  • Football is the national sport and the country hosted the 1962 World Cup, finishing third.
  • Famous Chilean writers Pablo Neruda and Gabriel Mistral have both won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
  • The National Coat of Arms features the endangered Huemul deer and the Andean condor, which has a wingspan of over 10 feet and has a hooked nose.

The Chilean Flag

Chile Flag

The National flag of Chile consists of two unequal red and white stripes and a blue square in the top left corner, containing a 5-pointed white star. The star is known in Spanish as La Estrella Solitaria (The Lone Star). According to the poem La Araucana the colours come from the flag flown by the Mapuche during the Arauco war.  Flag day is held on July 9th to commemorate the 77 soldiers who died in the Battle of La Concepcion in 1882.


Our Chile Resources

Chile Location Worksheet

Chile Location Worksheet

We have two location worksheets for Chile. The guided worksheet is aimed at younger children and includes the country and capital city names for the continent of South America. The blank map leaves it to the children to identify Chile and mark the location of Santiago.

Chile On Map Of South America

Chile On Map Of South America

This outline map of South America shows Chile's position in red, and gives the kids an idea of just what a "long, thin" country it is, and how much the climate can vary between north and south!

Chile Worksheet

Chile Worksheet

Back up the kids' research on Chile with this simple fact-finding worksheet, with space for the children to write what they have learned.

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