Just over 3,000 species of fungi are recorded in Chile. This number is far from complete. The true total number of fungal species in Chile is likely to be far higher. The generally accepted estimate is that only about 7 percent of all fungi worldwide have so far been discovered.
The northernmost coastal and central region is largely empty of vegetation. It is the most close to an absolute desert in the world. On the slopes of the Andes, besides the scattered tola desert brush, grasses are found. The central valley has several species of cacti, the hardy espinos (a kind of acacia tree), the Chilean pine, the southern beeches and the copihue, a red bell-shaped flower that is Chile's national flower.
In southern Chile, south of the Biobío River lots of rain has made dense forests of laurels, magnolias, and various species of conifers and beeches, which become smaller and more stunted to the south.
The cold temperatures and winds of the extreme south make it impossible for heavy forestation. Grassland is found in Atlantic Chile (in Patagonia).
Much of the Chilean plant life is different from that of neighboring Argentina. This shows that the Andean barrier existed during the formation of Chile.
Chile is divided into 16 regions. The regions are then divided into provinces. Each province is divided into communes.
Chileans call their country "país de poetas"-country of poets. Gabriela Mistral was the first Latin American to receive a Nobel Prize for Literature (1945). Chile's most famous poet, however, is Pablo Neruda. He also received the Nobel Prize for Literature (1971).
Among the list of other Chilean poets are Lily Garafulic, Vicente Huidobro, Pablo Simonetti, and Paulo Coloane. Isabel Allende is the best-selling Chilean novelist, with 51 millions of her novels sold worldwide. Novelist José Donoso's novel "The Obscene Bird of the Night" is said by critic Harold Bloom to be one of the important works of 20th century Western literature. Another internationally recognized Chilean novelist is Roberto Bolaño. His translations into English have had an excellent reception from the critics.
Chilean food shows the differences in the land across the country. There is an assortment of seafood, beef, fruits, and vegetables. Traditional recipes include asado, cazuela, empanadas, humitas, pastel de choclo, pastel de papas, curanto and sopaipillas.
Crudos is an example of the mixture of culinary additions from the various ethnic groups in Chile. Onions were brought by the Spanish colonists, and the use of mayonnaise and yogurt was introduced by German immigrants, as was beer.
Chile's most popular sport is association football. Chile has been in eight FIFA World Cups which includes hosting the 1962 FIFA World Cup. Other results by the national football team include four finals at the Copa América, one silver and two bronze medals at the Pan American Games, a bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics and two third places finishes in the FIFA under-17 and under-20 youth tournaments. The top league in the Chilean football league system is the Chilean Primera División. It was named by the IFFHS in 2011 as the ninth strongest national football league in the world.
Tennis is Chile's most successful sport. Its national team won the World Team Cup clay tournament twice (2003 & 2004). They played the Davis Cup final against Italy in 1976. At the 2004 Summer Olympics the country took gold and bronze in men's singles and gold in men's doubles. Marcelo Ríos became the first Latin American man to reach the number one spot in the ATP singles rankings in 1998. Anita Lizana won the US Open in 1937. She was the first woman from Latin America to win a grand slam tournament. Luis Ayala was twice a runner-up at the French Open and both Ríos, Nicolas Massu Friedt and Fernando González Ciuffardi reached the Australian Open men's singles finals. González also won a silver medal in singles at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
At the Summer Olympic Games Chile has a total of two gold medals (tennis), seven silver medals (athletics, equestrian, boxing, shooting and tennis) and four bronze medals (tennis, boxing and football). In 2012 Chile won its first Paralympic Games medal (gold in Athletics).
Rodeo is the country's national sport. It is practiced in the more rural areas of the country. A sport similar to hockey. Skiing and snowboarding are practiced at ski centers in the Central Andes. Surfing is popular at some coastal towns. Polo is professionally practiced in Chile. In 2008 Chile won top prize in the World Polo Championship.
Basketball is a popular sport. Chile earned a bronze medal in the first men's FIBA World Championship held in 1950. They won a second bronze medal when Chile hosted the 1959 FIBA World Championship. Chile hosted the first FIBA World Championship for Women in 1953 finishing the tournament with the silver medal. Other sports such as marathons and ultramarathons are also increasing in popularity. San Pedro de Atacama is host to the yearly "Atacama Crossing," a six-stage, 250-kilometer footrace which has about 150 competitors from 35 countries each year. The Dakar Rally off-road automobile race has been held in both Chile and Argentina since 2009.
A few European immigrants settled in Chile during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, mainly from Spain. The general picture is as follows:
The national flower is the copihue ("Lapageria rosea", Chilean bellflower), which grows in the woods of southern Chile.
The coat of arms shows the two national animals: the condor ("Vultur gryphus", a very large bird that lives in the mountains) and the huemul ("Hippocamelus bisulcus," an endangered white tail deer). It also has the saying "Por la razón o la fuerza" ("By reason or by force").
The flag of Chile has two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red. There is a blue square the same height as the white band. The square has a white five-pointed star in the center. The star is a guide to progress and honor. Blue is for the sky, white is for the snow-covered Andes, and red stands for the blood spilled to get independence.
Ambassador
An ambassador is a person sent by the government of a country to a different country. The ambassador is the official representative of their country. The ambassador speaks to officials of the other country about any problems and issues between the two countries.
In past years, communication between countries could take days or weeks. It was necessary to have a person in each foreign capital to have meetings and make negotiations between countries. Nowadays, communication is much faster, and often governments can be in direct contact with each other. However, it is still true that many problems need person-to-person meetings, so ambassadors are still needed.
Often an ambassador will live in the foreign country for a number of years. An embassy is where the ambassador lives. Embassies are most often in the capital of the foreign country. An ambassador may bring people with him to help him and work at the embassy. Some of the high ranking people may be called embassy officials.
It is both tradition and law that the ambassador and many embassy officials have diplomatic immunity. They cannot be arrested or prosecuted in the foreign country. The only possibility is to send a person back to their own country.
Monday
Monday is a day of the week. In some countries, it is the second day of the week. In other parts of the world, including some countries in Europe, Monday is the first day of the week.
The International Standards Organization considers Monday the first day of the week.
Nuclear war
A nuclear war is a war in which countries fight with nuclear weapons. Because nuclear weapons are extremely powerful and could cause destruction throughout the world, the possibility of nuclear war has had a great effect on international politics.