10 Fun Facts About Chile

Chile is a long, narrow country stretching along the western edge of South America, bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Andes Mountains to the east.

It covers a wide range of landscapes, from the Atacama Desert in the north to glaciers and fjords in the south. Chile is home to more than 130 volcanoes, around 2,600 miles of coastline, and several UNESCO World Heritage sites.

By the end of these ten fun facts about Chile, you’ll want to travel to the Americas on a service trip abroad for teens and you’ll know that Chile is a destination worth exploring.

1. Chile is the longest country in the world

Chile stretches down the coast of the Pacific Ocean over 2,700 miles (4,300 kilometers) from north to south while maintaining an average width of only 110 miles. This geography makes Chile the longest country in the world measured from north to south along a continuous landmass.

Due to its length, it contains every possible climate type.

2. Chile’s Atacama Desert is so dry it is used as a training ground for Mars rovers

The Atacama Desert in north Chile is the world’s driest desert, with some regions recording no rainfall for centuries. The Mars-like conditions make it an ideal testing ground for Mars rovers.

Despite that, over a million people live in this desert terrain and rely on aquifers and snowmelt for water.

>> Learn more about another incredible natural landscape just next door in Peru: Fun Facts About Peru.

3. The world’s highest volcano is in Chile

Chile has the world’s highest volcano, Ojos del Salado, rising 22,615 feet (6,893 meters) above sea level in the northern Andes Mountains. Chile is a key location for geological research and scientific exploration, as part of a chain of over 2,000 volcanoes.

Atacama Desert in Peru

>> Learn about another hiker’s paradise in Guatemala: Guatemala: Climate Leaders Fellowship Summit.

4. Chile holds the record for the world’s largest swimming pool

Chile has the world’s biggest swimming pool. The San Alfonso del Mar Resort covers 19.77 acres (80,000 square meters), holds 66 million gallons (249 million liters) of seawater and is 20 times the size of an Olympic pool. This Guinness World Record holder has been featured multiple times on National Geographic.

5. Chile is a leader in astronomy and UFO research

Chile excels in both astronomy and UFO research, driven by its unique geography and institutional dedication. Its high-altitude observatories, such as the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), benefit from some of the clearest skies on Earth.

Adding to its distinctiveness, Chile’s government has an official UFO research department called the Committee for the Study of Anomalous Aerial Phenomena (CEFAA).

My friend who keeps sending me UFO Instagram reels should move to Chile!

6. Chile has the record for the largest recorded earthquake

Chile recorded the largest earthquake on May 22, 1960. Known as the Great Valdivia Earthquake, this earthquake, with a magnitude of 9.5, devastated southern Chile and triggered tsunamis that reached as far as Hawaii, Japan, and the Philippines.

What was the impact of the Valdivia earthquake?

The earthquake and subsequent tsunamis killed an estimated 1,000-6,000 people and left two million Chileans homeless. The seismic event was so powerful it created new lakes and caused Chile’s coastline to sink by 6 feet (1.83 meters) in some areas. The Valdivia Earthquake encouraged Chile to enforce strict building colds and develop advanced earthquake monitoring systems.

Here is a video demonstrating the scale of the earthquake:

7. Chile contains the world’s oldest mummies

Chile is home to the world’s oldest mummies, created by indigenous groups such as the Chinchorro tribe. The Chinchorro mummies were discovered in northern Chile and date back to around 5050 BC, predating Egyptian mummies.

8. A whaling ship in Chile is tied to Moby Dick

Chile has a connection to Herman Melville’s classic novel, Moby Dick. The whaling ship Essex inspired Herman Melville’s classic novel, Moby Dick, after it encountered a sperm whale off Chile’s coast in 1820.

This led to a disastrous voyage, stranding the crew at sea. Visitors can now explore Chile’s maritime history in the coastal city of Valparaíso, where the Essex docked before its journey.

9. Chile has Easter Island, home to Moai statues (the 🗿 emoji)

Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean is locally called Rapa Nui and belongs to Chile; it is famous for its iconic Moai statues. These colossal stone figures were carved by Polynesian inhabitants between 1250 and 1500 CE and represent ancestral figures with deep cultural and spiritual significance. Today it is one of Chile’s UNESCO World Heritage sites.

10. The Texas flag looks similar to the Chilean flag

One of the interesting facts about Chile is that the Chilean flag and Texas flag are remarkably similar. Both have a white star on blue plus white and red stripes. The key difference is that Chile’s blue section runs halfway across, while Texas’s blue takes up just a third of the flag’s length.

These flags are not copies of each other. Chile designed its flag in 1817 during its fight for independence from Spain, while Texas ratified its flag in 1839 as an independent republic, before joining the United States. Both flags drew inspiration from the American flag’s symbols of liberty but developed their designs independently.

Here’s a comparison between the symbolism in the Chilean and Texan flags:

>> KEEP READING: 12 Fun Facts About Argentina