Have you ever wanted to come to Chile but you've noticed that you actually don't know a thing about it's capital? well, here we've posted some information about this beautiful city called Santiago. Enjoy it!
Climate and geography.
Santiago is the capital and the largest city in Chile (South America) and it is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of 520 m (1,706.04 ft) above mean sea level. It is crossed by the Mapocho river.
The city lies in a large bowl-shaped valley where you can find the most fertile lands and it’s surrounded by mountains, which flank the city on the east by the main chain of the Andes and the Chilean coastal range on the west. Many of this mountains and volcanos (some of which are still active) around the city exceed 6,000 m (19,685.04 ft), where most glaciers are maintained. One of the highest peaks is the volcano “Tupungato” with 6570 m.
This basin is approximately 80 km in a north-south direction and 35 km from east to west, diving the city in four different provinces and 37 communes.
Santiago possesses a “Mediterranean” or “semi-arid” climate. Relatively hot and dry summers (November to March) with temperatures reaching up to 35°C and somewhat easy-going winters (June to August) with cold mornings (minimums of a few degrees under 0°C) and maximums of 13°C.
Rainfall is 360mm (14.2 in) per year and its concentrated in the winter months.
History and demography.
Santiago was founded by Pedro de Valdivia on February 11, 1541 with the name "Santiago de Nueva Extremadura", he chose this location because of it's climate, abundant vegetation and the ease with which it could be defended (because of the Mapocho river).
There was a continued resistance of the indigenous population to give up their land to the Spanish conquerors, which leaded to several conflicts and wars between them until the defeated indigenous population was required to move south.
Despite threats from Indian attacks, and natural disasters such as earthquakes, and floods, Santiago was rapidly settled, in 1561 there were constructed the first important buildings in the city, including the first Cathedral and the Church of San Francisco in 1618.
On 12 February 1817, the Battle of Chacabuco was fought in the town of Colina. Argentine and Chilean armies, led by José de San Martín and Bernardo O'Higgins, fought Spanish royalists. That same day, Chile proclaimed its independence.
The 1930s saw the transformations of the city into a modern, industrialized one, thanks to the emigration from northern and southern regions, Santiago was home to 952,075 by the end of the decade and by the ends of the 1960s it raised to almost 1,908,000 people.
Now a day the population in Santiago reaches more than 5,428,590 inhabitants, equivalent to 35.91% of the national total.
Of course this numbers are affected by the strong earthquakes that stuck the city, first on March 3, 1985, causing few deaths but thousands of homeless people and the next one on February 27, 2010, with more than 80 deaths for the country.
Environmental and urban issues.
Santiago, as a capital and big city has its pros and cons. It is an important city (economically speaking) though it is divided, for example, the western half of the city is much poorer than the eastern side.
It also has important environmental issues, like high levels of smog (because, as already explained, the city lies in a bowl-shaped valley surrounded by mountains) which concentrate during winter months.
Also the main river of the city (the Mapocho River) is contaminated. Only 71% of the waters there are treated. There are now a large number of projects to clean the waters and make the river navigable.
There is also high noise levels, which are increased by diesel buses and trucks around the main streets of the city (this same buses are the major contributors to winter smog).
Transport.
If you are planning on traveling a bit through Santiago, there are a lot of options to make the best of it.
First of all the national and international airport in Santiago “Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport” is only 15 minutes from the center via the urban motorways.
There are also trains that operate by Chile’s national railway which arrive and depart from the “estación central” (central station).
There are several bus terminals in Santiago, which provide transportation to most areas of the country.
The most common ways to travel through the city are by taxi, bus or subway (metro).
Santiago’s metro is South America’s most extensive metro system, with 5 lines operating, 101 stations and around 2,400,000 passengers per day.
A few years ago, the government introduced a new system called Transantiago; to access to it, you have to use a blue card called "Bip!", wich is the only form to payment. The costs goes from $500 to $700, and if you're an student, you have a card called "Pase escolar", which only pays $180. In "Transantiago" there are buses and subways. You have to wait for the buses (which have a number on it, so you can know what's the travel of the bus) at certein locations, called whereabouts.
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