1. Chile

2. Faces of Chile

3. Chile’s Population & Geography Population: 16,284,741 Situated south of Peru and west of Bolivia and Argentina, Chile fills a narrow 2,880-mi (4,506 km) strip between the Andes and the Pacific. One-third of Chile is covered by the towering ranges of the Andes. In the north is the driest place on Earth, the Atacama Desert, and in the center is a 700- mile-long (1,127 km) thickly populated valley with most of Chile's arable land. At the southern tip of Chile's mainland is Punta Arenas, the southernmost city in the world, and beyond that lies the Strait of Magellan and Tierra del Fuego, an island divided between Chile and Argentina. The southernmost point of South America is Cape Horn, a 1,390-foot (424 m) rock on Horn Island in the Wollaston group, which belongs to Chile. Chile also claims sovereignty over 482,628 sq mi (1,250,000 sq km) of Antarctic territory; the Juan Fernández Islands, about 400 mi (644 km) west of the mainland; and Easter Island, about 2,000 mi (3,219 km) west.

4. Language of Chile Spanish Chilean Sign Language Native American Languages: -Aymara -Huilliche -Mapudungun -Qawasqar -Quechua -Rapa Nui -Yámana

5. Religions of Chile Roman Catholic 89% Protestant 11% small Jewish population

6. Chile’s Education & Literacy Rate Large, well-educated middle class Education emphasized Primary, secondary, and post-secondary education available Many trained in technical and professional areas Literacy rate 96% (2003)

7. Customs & Traditions Friendliness is very important Trilla a yegua- using horses to help separate wheat from the chaff Many festivals

8. Holidays observed Christmas Easter New Year Independence Day Festival of La Tirana Feast Day of Saint Sebastian Fiesta de Quasimodo Festival of the Virgin of the Song Saint's Day of Francis of Assisi

9. Other interesting facts Folk music very important National dance is Ceuca Two Nobel Prize winners in literature, Gabriela Mistral and Pablo Neruda, both poets Production of copper has dominated the Chilean economy.