GEOGRAPHY
Chile is a country of incredible geographical beauty and variety as a result of its huge span of latitude (4270 km) and the fact that it is bordered to the West by the Pacific Ocean and the East by the Andes mountains with the separation between ocean and mountains averaging a mere 177 km down the entire length of the country. In fact, many of the Earth’s climates are represented in Chile, including desert lands in the North that some years receive zero precipitation, rainforest in the Near North, and agricultural plains in Central Chile bordered to East and West by mountain ranges. Central Chile contains many of the country’s most beautiful beaches. The Lake District to the South is one of the rainiest areas in the world with annual rainfall approaching three meters and the Far South of Chile consists of thousands of islands forming complex archipelagos accented by vast fjords stretching high into the sky straight out of the ocean, making for breathtaking scenery.

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FAST FACTS

• Country - Republic of Chile
• Capital - Santiago
• Total Area - 292,260.03 sq mi / 756,950.00 sq km (slightly smaller than twice the size of Montana)
• Population - 15,328,467 (July 2001 est.)
• Languages - Spanish
• Currency - 1 Chilean peso (Ch$) = 100 centavos
• Terrain - Desert in north; fertile central valley; volcanoes and lakes toward the south, giving way to rugged and complex coastline; Andes Mountains on the eastern border.
• Climate - Arid in north, Mediterranean in the central portion, cool and damp in south
• Industry - copper, other minerals, foodstuffs, fish processing, iron and steel, wood and wood products, transport equipment, cement, textiles
• Agriculture - wheat, corn, grapes, beans, sugar beets, potatoes, fruit; beef, poultry, wool; fish; timber
• Natural Resources - copper, timber, iron ore, nitrates, precious metals, molybdenum, hydropower

Bishop of Chile: The Rt. Rev. Tito Zavala