Chile Photos

Foter / Public domain

Dietmar Temps / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA

Stuck in Customs / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA

[Thanks] Photos from free stock photography foter.com

http://www.eduteka.pl/temat/Chile – Polish Guide

http://opentravel.com/Chile-Vacations-Guide – English Guide

Finance

Chile’s financial sector has grown faster than other areas of the economy over the last few years; a banking law reform approved in 1997 broadened the scope of permissible foreign activity for Chilean banks. Domestically, Chileans have enjoyed the recent introduction of new financial tools such as home equity loans, currency futures and options, factoring, leasing, and debit cards.

The introduction of these new products has been accompanied by increased use of traditional instruments such as loans and credit cards. Chile’s private pension system, with assets worth roughly $36 billion at the end of September 2000, has provided an important source of investment capital for the stock market.Chile has maintained one of the best credit ratings in Latin America despite the 1999 economic slump. In recent years, many Chilean companies have sought to raise capital abroad due to the relatively lower interest rates outside of Chile. There are three main ways Chilean firms raise funds abroad: bank loans, issuance of bonds, and the selling of stock on U.S. markets through American Depository Receipts (ADRs). Nearly all of the funds raised go to finance investment. The government is rapidly paying down its foreign debt. The combined public and private foreign debt was roughly 50% of GDP at the end of 2000, low by Latin American standards.

Llullaillaco National Park

Llullaillaco National Park is a national park of Chile, located 275 km southeast of Antofagasta in the Andes. It lies between the eastern slopes of the Cordillera Domeyko and the international border with Argentina. In the park there are several important mountains that culminate at the summit of Llullaillaco volcano. The park also is characterized by extensive semi-desert plains interspersed by Quebradas. A part of the Inca road system is found in Río Frío area.

The park’s vegetation is dominated by high Andean steppes. In the park have been recorded 126 flora species, 21 of which are endemic to the area.

Herds of vicuñas wander through the park.

Llullaillaco National Park

Llullaillaco National Park – National Park in northern Chile with an area of 2,687 km ², established in 1995.

Park is located in the Andes, less than 300 km south-east of Antofagasty, between the mountains of eastern parties Domeyko a national border with Argentina. It includes a series of mountain peaks, including the active volcano Llullaillaco (6739 m asl) and Cerro Guanaqueros (5131 m), Cerro Zorritas (4274 m), Cerro Bayo (4920 m), Cerro Aguas Calientes (5066 m) Cerro de la Pena (5260 m ).

In the park by the steppe vegetation. Registered in the 126 species of flora, of which 21 are endemic species.

The lack of tourist infrastructure. Within the park are the remains of roads inkaskich which in the past were an important trade route.

Torres del Paine

Torres del Paine – massif belonging to a group of mountainous Cordillera del Paine lies in Chile in Patagonia. It is located 400 km north of Punta Arenas and some 2,500 km to the south of Chile’s capital Santiago de Chile.

Massif consists of three towers of rock:

* South: probably the highest, with a height of about 2500 meters above sea level, acquired by Armando ASTE,
* Middle (2460 m) was acquired in 1963 by Chris Bonington and Don Whillansa,
* North (2260 m): acquired by Guido Monzino.

Not yet been carried out precise measurements of the peak heights, and made measurements are based on estimates and often differ significantly from each other.

Regions

Chile is administratively divided into 13 regions, uaX Los Lagos Region. These are numbered north to south. The Region Metropolitana with Santiago as its capital, between the 5.und 6th Region, is not numbered 13th Region.

Chile can be generalized into the following categories landscapes:

* The great north – the large desert areas in the north (Altiplano, Atacama)
* The small north – the Halbwüstengebiete of Los Vilos to around Rio Copiapó
* Central Chile with a Mediterranean climate – the capital region and the regions north and south
* The small south – the Lakes region, the cold rain areas around Puerto Montt, the island of Chiloe group
* The large south – some from Puerto Aisen to Tierra del Fuego

A further breakdown shows through the Andes to Chile from north to south through completely. These are divided into a Küstenkordilliere the big Längstal and the eastern Kordilliere. The big Längstal lowers continuously and disappears south of Puerto Montt completely in the sea, while the Küstenkordilliere the island chains and fjords off the coast of forms.

Administrative division

Chile is divided into 15 regions, each of which is headed by an intendant appointed by the President. Every region is further divided into provinces, with a provincial governor also appointed by the President. Finally each province is divided into communes which are administered by municipalities, each with its own mayor and councilmen elected by their inhabitants for four years.

Each region is designated by a name and a Roman numeral, assigned from north to south. The only exception is the region housing the nation’s capital, which is designated RM, that stands for Región Metropolitana (Metropolitan Region).

Two new regions were created in 2006: Arica and Parinacota in the north, and Los Ríos in the south. Both became operative in October 2007.

Etymology

There are various theories about the origin of the word Chile. According to one theory the Incas of Peru, who had failed to conquer the Araucanians, called the valley of the Aconcagua “Chili” by corruption of the name of a tribal chief (“cacique”) called Tili, who ruled the area at the time of the Incan conquest.Another theory points to the similarity of the valley of the Aconcagua with that of the Casma Valley in Peru, where there was a town and valley named Chili. Other theories say Chile may derive its name from the indigenous Mapuche word chilli, which may mean “where the land ends,””the deepest point of the Earth,” or “sea gulls;”or from the Quechua chin, “cold,” or the Aymara tchili, meaning “snow.Another meaning attributed to chilli is the onomatopoeic cheele-cheele—the Mapuche imitation of a bird call. The Spanish conquistadors heard about this name from the Incas and the few survivors of Diego de Almagro’s first Spanish expedition south from Peru in 1535-36 called themselves the “men of Chilli.”

When to Go

Chile always has a region or two ripe for exploration whatever the season. But if your heart is set on one part of the country, pick your trip dates carefully. Santiago and Middle Chile are best in the verdant spring (September through November) or during the fall harvest (late February into April), while Chile’s southern charms, Parque Nacional del Paine in Magallanes and the lakes region are best in summer (December through March). The parched Atacama Desert can be explored year-round, although summer days sizzle and nights are bitterly cold at higher altitudes throughout the year. In the northern altiplano, summer is the rainy season, though this usually means only a brief afternoon downpour.

Chile in the winter can be a wonderland for skiers; the country’s resorts attract hordes from July through September. Easter Island is cooler, slightly cheaper and much less crowded outside the summer months. The same is true of the Juan Fernández archipelago, which can be inaccessible if winter rains erode the dirt airstrip; March is an ideal time for a visit. Summer is high season.

Many of the country’s best festivals, including Semana Musical, Fiesta de Candelario and Carnaval, are held in February, so consider this a good time to come if you want to hang out with the locals.

Chile

Chile, officially the Republic of Chile (Spanish: República de Chile (help·info)), is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow coastal strip wedged between the Andes mountains and the Pacific Ocean. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage at the country’s southernmost tip. The Pacific forms the country’s entire western border, with a coastline that stretches over 6,435 kilometres.^[4] Chilean territory extends to the Pacific Ocean which includes the overseas territories of Juan Fernández Islands, the Sala y Gómez islands, the Desventuradas Islands and Easter Island located in Polynesia. Chile claims 1,250,000 km² (482,628 sq mi) of territory in Antarctica.

Chile’s unusual, ribbon-like shape —4,300 km long and on average 175 km wide— has given it a hugely varied climate, ranging from the world’s driest desert – the Atacama – in the north, through a Mediterranean climate in the centre, to a snow-prone Alpine climate in the south, with glaciers, fjords and lakes.^[5] The northern Chilean desert contains great mineral wealth, principally copper. The relatively small central area dominates the country in terms of population and agricultural resources. This area also is the cultural and political center from which Chile expanded in the late 19th century, when it incorporated its northern and southern regions. Southern Chile is rich in forests and grazing lands and features a string of volcanoes and lakes. The southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting peninsulas, and islands. The Andes Mountains are located on the eastern border.^[6]

Prior to the coming of the Spanish in the 16th century, northern Chile was under Inca rule while Araucanian Indians (also known as Mapuches) inhabited central and southern Chile. Although Chile declared its independence in 1810, decisive victory over the Spanish was not achieved until 1818. In the War of the Pacific (1879-83), Chile defeated Peru and Bolivia and won its present northern regions. It was not until the 1880s that the Araucanian Indians were completely subjugated.^[7] The country, which had been relatively free of the coups and arbitrary governments that blighted the South American continent, endured a 17 year military dictatorship (1973-1990), one of the bloodiest in 20th-century Latin America that left more than 3,000 people dead and missing.^[5]

Currently, Chile is one of South America’s most stable and prosperous nations.^[5] Within the greater Latin American context it leads in terms of competitiveness,^{[8][9][10][11]} quality of life,^[12] political stability,^[13] globalization,^[14] economic freedom,^{[15][16][17][18]} low corruption perception^[19] and comparatively low poverty rates.^[20][21][22] It also ranks high regionally in freedom of the press,^[23][24] human development^[25] and democratic development.^[26] Its status as the region’s richest country in terms of gross domestic product per capita (at market prices^[27] and purchasing power parity^[28]) is countered by its high level of income inequality, as measured by the Gini index.