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“Tchilli” - There are various theories about the origin of the word Chile, one of them being that the name came from a word in the Mapuche language which means "place where the earth ends."

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Location - Chile is located between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean.

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Resemblances - The Chilean flag (the image on the left) is very similar to the flag for the American state of Texas (the image on the right).

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Flag - In Chile, there is a law that obliges all inhabitants to put up the Chilean flag on May 21 (Navy Day) and on September 18 and 19 (Native Land Holidays). Failure to do so results in a fine.

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Capital - Santiago is the capital of Chile, as well as its largest and most populated city. One-third of the country's population lives here.

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Population - After Santiago, the most populous cities are Concepción, Valparaiso, La Serena, and Antofagasta.

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Easter Island - Despite being located in French Polynesia, Easter Island is part of Chilean territory.

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Ring of Fire - The Chilean territory is part of the so-called Ring of Fire, a region around the Pacific Ocean subject to volcanic activity and earthquakes.

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Earthquakes - The strongest earthquake ever recorded to this day was in Chile.

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Valdivia earthquake - The strongest earthquake happened in 1960 in the city of Valdivia. It reached 9.5 on the Richter scale.

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Volcanoes - Chile has 15 volcanoes, but not all are active.

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Pablo Neruda - Two Chilean writers have won Nobel Prizes in literature: Pablo Neruda and Gabriela Mistral. Pablo Neruda was awarded the prize in 1971.  There are three museums about the poet open to visitors: La Chascona in Santiago, La Sebastiana in Valparaiso, and Isla de Negra.

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Gabriela Mistral - Gabriela Mistral was born in the city of Vicuña and received the prize in 1945. The Chileans say that since she never married and didn't have children, she left all her inheritance to the children of her native city.

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Origin - More than 90% of the population has ancestors from European colonizers, including Spain, Germany, Italy, the UK, and Portugal.

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Desert - The world's driest desert is located in Chile. Some scholars claim that it didn't rain in ​​the Atacama Desert for 571 years.

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Atacama - Temperatures in the Atacama Desert can range from 40ºC (104ºF) during the day to 0ºC (32ºF) at night.

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Atacama telescopes - Atacama is a major hub for astronomical research, and is home to several observatories. The Atacama Large Millimeter Array was inaugurated in 2011. It has 64 antennae that work together as a single gigantic radio telescope.

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Mine - Chuquicamata is the largest open-pit mine in the world. It is 2.5 miles (4 km) by 1.25 miles (2 km) with a depth of over 2,500 ft (762 m). Every day, 1,000 tons of copper are extracted.

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Copper - Chile is the world's largest producer and exporter of copper. About one-third of the world's copper production is in Chile.

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Largest pool - According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest swimming pool in the world is in Chile. Located in the resort San Alfonso Del Mar, the pool is over half a mile (.8 km) and contains and 250 million liters of water.

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Wine - Some of the best wines in the world are produced in Chile. The country is the world's fourth-biggest producer.

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Tallest building - The Costanera Center 2, also known as the Gran Torre Santiago, is almost 1,000 ft (304 m) tall, and is the tallest skyscraper in Latin America.

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Olympic games - Chile was the only Latin American country to participate in the first edition of the modern Olympic Games, in 1896 in the city of Athens.

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Soccer - Soccer is the most popular sport in Chile. To date, the country has participated in nine World Cups.

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World Cup - Chile hosted the 1962 World Cup, in which the champion was Brazil and the Chileans took third place.

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Tap water - In Chile, drinking tap water is a common practice because water is treated and filtered.

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Not allowed! - Drinking alcohol in public spaces is also forbidden.

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Avocado - Avocado is a common ingredient in Chilean foods. You can find it in sauces, salads, and sandwiches.

See also: Delicious Latin dishes to try before you die

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