A Chilean Challenge Trivia Quiz

Answer: long and thin

Chile is a ribbon-like country that snakes its way down the west coast of South America from a latitude of 17S to 56S. It is 4,270 km (2,653 mi) long from north to south, but averages a mere 177 km (110 mi) in width. At its northern end, Chile has borders with Peru and Bolivia, while its eastern border with Argentina is the world's third-longest land border, at 5,150 km (3,200 mi).

Answer: Andes

The Andes are the world's longest continental mountain range, extending over 7,000 km (4,300 mi) from Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador in the north, through Bolivia and Peru to the southern section in Argentina and Chile. The Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao off the coast of Venezuela are actually submerged peaks of the extreme northern end of the Andes. The southern end of the Andes is located at Cape Horn.

The Himalayas are in Asia, the Urals are often considered the boundary between Europe and Asia, and the Southern Alps are in Australia.

Answer: Pacific Ring of Fire

The Pacific Ocean is surrounded by seismically-active regions which include 452 active volcanoes and around 75% of the world's dormant volcanoes. They are associated with plate movements as oceanic plates are subducted (pulled under) the continental plates that surround them. The 'ring' forms a horseshoe shape from the southern tip of Chile north along the western coast of South and North America, westwards along the Aleutian Islands, and down the east coast of Asia through Japan and the Philippines to Indonesia and New Zealand.

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a divergent plate boundary that runs through the middle of the Atlantic Ocean; the Great Rift Valley refers to a divergent plate region in Africa; the San Andreas Fault is a portion of the Ring of Fire, located in the US state of California.

Answer: earthquake

Along with volcanoes, the Ring of Fire is known for its frequent earthquakes. The earthquake of February 2010 was a magnitude 8.8 quake that lasted for 90 seconds. The tremors at Arauco and Coronal were rated IX (Ruinous) on the Mercalli intensity scale, while the capital, Santiago, experienced level VII (destructive) tremors. Several Chilean towns were devastated by the subsequent tsunami, and tsunami warnings were posted in 53 countries.

Seismologists have estimated that the power of this earthquake may have resulted in shortening the length of a day by 1.26 microseconds, and moved the Earth's figure axis by 2.7 milliarcseconds. GPS measurements show that the city of Concepcion was moved 3.04 m (10 ft) to the west, and Santiago moved almost 24 cm (10 in).

Answer: Atacama Desert

The Atacama Desert is one of the driest places on earth, being shielded from rain on the east by the Andes Mountains and on the west by the Chilean Coast Range. The climate is further kept dry by a coastal inversion layer created by the Humboldt Current and the South Pacific High, a subtropical anticyclone in the southeast Pacific Ocean. The average rainfall in the desert is 1 mm (0.04 in) a year, and there are some weather stations that have never recorded any rainfall since their establishment.

The Sahara Desert is found in Africa, the Gobi in Asia, and the Mojave in North America.

Answer: Santiago

The Central Valley has traditionally been the heartland of Chile, containing a number of its major cities, and being the centre of economic activity. Major industries of the area include copper mining, logging, fishing and manufacturing. The Mediterranean climate makes it the richest agricultural land in the country, and the area near Santiago produces a large range of fruits, including the grapes from which many fine Chilean wines are made.

Answer: the Lake District

Although there are other lovely lakes in the country, the Southern Zone has a large number of lakes formed by rivers descending from the Andes, which leads to its nickname. It is a popular tourist destination in the summer, with its spectacular waterfalls, lush vegetation and stunning lakes. One of the wettest spots in the region is Valdivia, with an annual rainfall of 2,535 mm (100 in).

The Valdivian temperate rainforest ecosystem contains magnificent old trees, especially 'Nothofagus' and 'Fitzroya', which are endangered due to logging and replacement of old growth with fast-growing species of pines and eucalyptus.

Answer: glacial

The Austral Zone of Chile, south of the Chacao Channel, contains both landforms left by previous glaciers, such as fjords, and active glaciers, some at quite low altitudes, including a number that discharge directly into the sea. There are numerous offshore islands, part of the continuation of the Chilean Coast Range.

While there are volcanoes in the region, they are by no means the predominant feature. Both equatorial and polar are terms used to describe climates, not landforms. Some parts of Patagonia have polar climates; none of it is equatorial.

Answer: Tierra del Fuego

The Strait of Magellan is considered one of the world's most treacherous stretches of water because of the unpredictable winds and currents that prevail in this very narrow sea passage. To the south can be found Tierra del Fuego (Spanish for 'Land of Fire'), an archipelago consisting of one main island and several smaller ones. Roughly two-thirds of the main island belongs to Chile. The mainland town of Punta Arenas, just across the strait, is the capital of the administrative region that includes half of the Chilean portion of the archipelago. Puerto Toro, on the island of Navarino, is the southernmost village in the world.

The Torres del Paine are three huge granite monoliths carved by glaciers. They can be found in Torres del Paine National Park , about 400 km (244 miles) north of Punta Arenas. Cape Horn island has the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, and the most southerly point of South America.

This southernmost part of Chile is a good place to see many native animal (and plant) species. Penguins, rheas, guanacos, Austral parakeets and condors can all be seen in their natural environment.

Answer: Christmas Island

In 1888, Chile incorporated Easter Island, which lies 3,510 km (2,180 mi) west of continental Chile, at the eastern end of Polynesia. They also control Sala y Gomez, an uninhabited (except by visiting fishermen) island 415 km (258 mi) closer to the mainland.

Robinson Crusoe Island is the largest island in the Chilean-owned Juan Fernandez archipelago, which also includes the islands of Alejandro Selkirk and Santa Clara. Located 675 km (420 mi) from mainland Chile, it is famous as the island where Alexander Selkirk was marooned from 1704 to 1708, an experience which formed the basis for Daniel Defoe's classic 1719 novel, "Robinson Crusoe".

Christmas Island, in the Indian Ocean, is a territory of Australia. Chile also has territorial claims in Antarctica which extend to the South Pole, but that claim has been suspended under the Antarctic Treaty.