Chile is located in South America. With the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Antarctic to the south, Chile has a long coastline. It has a variety of landforms with 80% being covered by mountains. Its topography is divided into three areas — coastal mountain range in the west, fertile valley in the central part, and Andes Mountains to the east.
Culture
As the Spanish invasion played a part in adding to the existing Chilean culture. Spanish is Chile’s official language. One can see the impact of Europeans as well as ancient Chilean art in its churches and cathedrals. Arpilleras, a folk art, is part of the culture. They are bright and fancy wall pieces made by knitting together irregular cloth bits such as sackcloth.
In 1945, Gabriela Mistral won the Nobel Prize for Literature, becoming the first Chilean to do so. Apart from this, Chile has a national football team. They hosted and secured the third place in the FIFA World Cup in 1962 .
The Atacama desert is located in the North. It receives almost no rainfall and has a dry climate. The central part of the country is fertile, thrives on agricultural activities and is the most populated compared to the rest of the country. With a Mediterranean climate, this area has dry summers and wet winters. Southern Chile is made up of forests and lakes, whereas the southern coast/far south has fjords created by age-old glacial erosion. There are mountainous islands and peninsulas too. The south has cool and wet weather.
Munch on it
Chilean cuisine is divided into north, central as well as coast and south. Since Europeans and Arabs also live here, the food too has imbibed the variety . People in the north have a protein rich diet. Asado means to roast meat on a barbecue and the people in the north roast alpaca meat on a barbecue. The native population and European settlers played a role in shaping the cuisine from the central valley and the coast. One of the specialities is “Pastel de Choclo”, a pie made out of corn and meat. “Curanto” is a stew of meat and shellfish prepared in the south. When the Germans migrated to the south in the 19th century, they brought with them cakes and desserts which merged with the local cuisine.
