Chile
Country Profile, By Colton Bartuska
Fast Facts
- Official Name- Republic of Chile
- Capital- Santiago
- Population- 17, 216, 945
- Official Language and other languages spoken- Spanish(official), English, German, Mapudungun
- Religion- mostly Christian, some Protestant and Atheist
Government Facts
- Head of Government- Michelle Bachelet
- Lawmaking Body- could not find
- National symbols- Chileans Coat of Arms, includes a condor, a huemel, a star, and the colors red, white, and blue.
Geography Facts
- Tourist Hot Spot- Easter Island
- Total Area- 2,672 sq miles
- Climate- North-arid and dry/ Central Region-mild wet winters, long dry summers/ South- cold and wet
- Highest and Lowest Points- lowest- Pacific Ocean: 0m / Highest- Nevado Ojos del Salado: 6,880m
- Major bodies of water- Pacific Ocean, Straight of Magellan
- Significant land forms- Atacama desert, Andes mountains
Economic Facts
- Currency- Peso
- Major natural resources- coal, copper, fish, fruit, zine, metals, oil
- Main Industry- Agriculture, fishing, food processing, glass, ceramics
- Exports- copper, fish meal, fruit, Iron ore, processed food, paper and wood pulp
- Imports- Petroleum, stone and glass, vegetables, paper goods
Cultural
- What foods are Popular? Fish, seafood, chicken, beef, beans, potatoes, eggs, and corn are popular foods.
- what are major holidays and festivals? New Years Day, Easter, Labor Day, All Saints Day, Day of Race, and Christmas are major holidays.
- How are major holidays and festivals celebrated? Christmas is in the summer, they still have Christmas Trees and Santa, but families hold outdoor barbecues and the day before Christmas they open presents at exactly Midnight.
- What are the most popular pastime and/ or activities? A huge pastime in Chile is soccer or Futbol.
- Famous Person or people and why- Snooki, television actress- gained fame from MTV's Jersey Shore.
Article #1
Author: Angela Fritz
Date article was published: October 29th, 2015
Fact one: The Atacama Desert is the driest place on Earth.
Reason this is important: This is important because the desert is usually dry but do to the El Nino the desert has brought lots of rain.
Fact two: Heavy thunderstorms brought 0.96 inches of rain in a day.
Reason this is important: This is important because it doesn't seem like much rain but to the Atacama Desert that is over 14 years of rain in one day!
Fact three: The Malva ( or Mallow) flower blooms every five to seven years.
Reason this is important: This is important because it is the flower that has carpeted the Atacama Desert due to large amounts of rainfall from the El Nino.
Summary: This article was about the Atacama Desert and the El Nino colliding. The Atacama Desert is the driest place on Earth, average rainfall of just 0.07 inches a year. The El Nino though has brought in extreme rainfalls, up to 0.96 inches or 14 years of rainfall in one day. With the extreme amounts of rainfall it has brought an awash of colors to the desert. The awash of color or the Malva flower has turned this arid desert into a magnificent carpet of color.
Reactions: I think this article is super cool. I find it interesting because for the driest place on Earth it takes such a tiny amount of rainfall to turn this arid place into a carpeted land of flowers.
Article #2
Author: Keith Wagstaff
Date article was published: November 11th 2015
Fact one: The Atacama Desert is a great place for the Giant Magellan Telescope.
Reason this is important: This is important because in dry areas, telescopes can see starlight that would otherwise be blocked by the atmosphere. Being in the Atacama Desert has other advantages as well, fewer cloudy and rainy days.
Fact two: The Giant Magellan Telescope will take some pretty impressive pictures.
Reason this is important: This is important because The Giant Magellan Telescope has a resolution 10 times higher in some wavelengths than those taken by the Hubble space Telescope.
Fact three: The telescope will stretch 85 feet in diameter.
Reason this is important: When finished being built in 2021 and after a little fine-tuning it will be operational by 2024 or 2025. When finished it will be far larger then the Gran Telescopio Canarias, currently the largest telescope on Earth at 34 feet in diameter.
Summary: This article was about building a giant in the desert. No not literally a giant, but The Giant Magellan Telescope is being built in the Atacama Desert located in Chile. The Giant Magellan Telescope will stretch 85 feet. This telescope also has a resolution 10 times higher in some wavelengths than the Hubble Space Telescope and will provide some of the highest resolution images yet of the planets orbiting the distant stars. The GMT should be built in 2021 and with a little fine-tuning it should be up and running in 2024 or 2025.
Reactions: I think this article is filled with lots of great information. One thing that stood out to me was " astronomy and water don't mix very well." This stood out to me because it just makes so much sense to me why they put the telescope in the driest place on Earth. It only rains 0.07 inches each year there, so the sky is usually clear and not cloudy or raining. I just find it cool how much thought and brains were put into the location of the GMT.
Article #3
Author: Rachel Abrams and Ashley Southhall
Date article was published: December 8th, 2015
Fact one: Douglas Tompkins (72) died in a kayaking accident in Chile.
Reason this is important: This is important because this is a big tragedy to many people around the United States and Chile. Mr. Tompkins was kayaking when his kayak capsized. His death was confirmed by Coyhaique Regional Hospital, where Mr. Tompkins was flown with severe hypothermia.
Fact two: Mr. Tompkins attended Pamfret school in Connecticut but never graduated and did not attend college.
Reason why this is important: This is important because instead of going to college, at age 17 he headed to Colorado working in Aspen and squirreling away money, but he ended up being a wealthy businessman and co-founder of North Face and Esprit.
Fact three: Mr. Tompkins made his fortune in retailing but later shunned the business world to pursue his passion for nature and conservationism.
Reason this is important: This is important because Mr. Tompkins is widely known as a wealthy business man and co-founder of North Face but he really loved nature and being outdoors. He skied and climbed mountains all over and just loved being outdoors, so for his life to be taken by nature is just shocking.
Summary: This article was about wealthy North Face co-founder Douglas Tompkins and how he died. Tompkins died in a kayaking accident when his boat was capsized, he later died of severe hypothermia. Mr. Tompkins was more than just a businessman though, Douglas loved the outdoors and was also a conservationist. Mr. Tompkins used his fortune to buy 2.2 million acres through his various conservation groups, protecting 715,000 acres of rain forest that stretches from the Pacific Ocean to the Andes Mountains. This article told the story of how Douglas Tompkins died but how he also lived his life and what he loved doing and that was being outdoors.
Reactions: I think this article was informational and interesting. It not only explained how Douglas died but it talked about his life and what he loved doing. I thought it was cool because Mr. Tompkins was more than just a businessman. He once stated " if you are not willing to take the political heat, then you shouldn't get into the game of land conservation." He was very passionate about land conservation and nature and I thought this was cool about a wealthy businessman.