n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nThisnlong, skinny nation is a strip of land between the Pacific Ocean andnthe Andes Mountains.
n
n
n
nNot surprisingly, with a length of 4,600+nkilometers (or 2,800+ miles), Chile is the longest north-southncountry in the world. Even though it is such a narrow stretch ofnland (only 420 km, or 265 mi, at its widest), the landscapes vary anlot. There is everything from the driest desert in the world—thenAtacama Desert—to rainy forests and lakes, to fertile valleys, to anstring of volcanoes and a maze of fjords, islands, peninsulas, andncanals. Chile even has glaciers and icebergs. Check out this varietynin a short video called “Chile * All Ways Surprising.”
n
n
n
n
n
n
nOnnthis day in 1810, Chile proclaimed itself a separate republic withinnthe Spanish monarchy. At this time, Europe was in a bit of a mess.nNapoleon was busy attacking and conquering much of continentalnEurope, and he’d kicked out Spain’s king, Charles IV, and put on thenthrone his own brother Joseph. In faraway Chile, the people didn’tnwant to acknowledge Joseph as their ruler and instead declared theirnloyalty to Ferdinand, the son of the deposed king. After that, anmovement for true independence for Chile began to be popular.
n
n
n
n
n
nPepe’s Chile website features a list of ten things to do to celebrate Chile’s Fiestas Patrias (“Patriotic Festival,” or Independence Day).
n
n
n
n