ABOUT THE CHILE

Chile is a country of startling contrasts and extreme beauty, with attractions ranging from the towering volcanic peaks of the Andes to the ancient forests of the Lake District. There are a multitude of very good parks here, and plenty of opportunities for fine adventure travel. Chile is justly famous as the location of Torres del Paine, considered by many to be the finest nature travel destinations in all of South America Chile is a country of startling contrasts and extreme beauty, with attractions ranging from the towering volcanic peaks of the Andes to the ancient forests of the Lake District. There are a multitude of very good parks here, and plenty of opportunities for fine adventure travel. Chile is justly famous as the location of Torres del Paine, considered by many to be the finest nature travel destinations in all of South America.
 Location, Geography Climate
For anyone who has ever been fascinated by geography, the long, impossibly thin line of Chile has always produced a tiny moment of astonishment. Chile stretches over 4,300 km (2,700 mi) along the southwestern coast of South America, a distance roughly the same as that from San Francisco to New York, or Edinburgh to Baghdad. At the same time, its width never exceeds 240 km (150 mi), making the country more than eighteen times longer than its widest point.

The most obvious factor in Chile's remarkable slenderness is the massive, virtually impassable wall of the Andes, a mountain range that is still rising and that contains more than fifty active volcanic peaks. The western border is of course the Pacific Ocean, but it is a misconception to picture Chile as nothing more than the steep western slope of the Andean peaks. All along its length Chile is marked by a narrow depression between the mountains and the sea. To the north the land rises and becomes more arid, until one reaches the forbidding Atacama Desert, one of the most inhospitable regions on earth. To the south just the opposite transformation takes place: the land falls away, and the region between mountains and ocean fades into the baffling archipelagic maze that terminates in Chilean Patagonia. Chile's southern extremity is marked by Cape Horn, a treacherous headland surrounded by almost continuously storm-tossed seas and passable only through the foggy stillness of the Strait of Magellan.

In the center of the country, however, is a long and expansive river valley, a five hundred mile corridor occupied in the north by vineyards and great farms and in the south by primeval forests and enchanting lakes. Santiago, the capital, anchors the northern and more prosperous section of the central valley. The lush Lake District to the south, however, is the homeland of Chile's indigenous peoples, the Araucanians.

Also part of Chile are two notable Pacific possessions-the Juan Fernandez Islands and the famous Easter Island, both of which are administered as national parks. The Juan Fernandez islands are located about 670 km off the Chilean coast, while Easter Island is situated 3700 km distant.



Chile's climate is as diverse as its geography. Aside from the obviously extreme climatic conditions of the Andes an the Atacama, however, the country enjoys a comfortable temperate climate.

1) What is the maximum width of Chile?


a) 100 miles

b) 150 miles

c) 200 miles

d) 1,000 miles

2) Who is the first woman President of Chile?


a) Michelle Bachelet

b) Viviane Cuq

c) Cristina Preito

d) Patricia Soto

3) Which is the southernmost point of South America?


a) Cape Canaveral

b) Cape Horn

c) Cape Kennedy

d) Cape Conrad



4) Whose government was overthrown in 1973?

a) Juan Antonio Rios

b) Salavador Allende

c) Pedro Montt

d) Jose Balmaceda



5) When did Augusto Pinochet retire as commander-in-chief?

a) 1989

b) 1998

c) 1990

d) 1993



6) Which of the following islands belongs to Chile?

a) Greenland

b) Newfoundland

c) Easter Island

d) New Caledonia



7) Which is the currency of Chile?

a) Franc

b) Dollar

c) Pound

d) Peso



8) Who founded Santiago?

a) Diego de Almagro

b) Pedro de Valdivia

c) Bernardo O’Higgins

d) Pablo Neruda



9) Who led a coup in 1924?

a) Simon Bolivar

b) Alberto Fujimori

c) Luis Altamirano

d) Carlos Ibanez del Campo



10) Who was the President of Chile from 1990 to 1994?

a) Eduardo Frei Montalva

b) Patricio Aylwin

c) Ricardo Lagos

d) Joaquin Lavin