Chile

The Republic of Chile is a country in the west of South America. The world's southernmost country and the closest to Antarctica, along the narrow strip of land between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean. Covering an area of 756,096 square kilometers, the country controls several Pacific islands, among them Juan Fernández, Isla Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas and Easter Island, and has a claim to about 1,250,000 square kilometers of Antarctic territory as the Chilean Antarctic Territory. Chile's capital and largest city is Santiago de Chile. Chile's flora and fauna is marked by a high level of endemism due to its unique geography. The Atacama Desert in the north and the Andes mountains in the east are barriers that have resulted in the isolation of flora and fauna. In addition, Chile's 4,300 km length results in a wide variety of climates and habitats. Chile, often called the "the spine of South America", has 100 protected areas. Chile's land mammals are mainly nocturnal and avoid human interaction, so they are mostly only seen in national parks. Marine mammals, such as whales, otters, sea lions, dolphins are quite easy to spot along the long coastline of the Pacific Ocean in the western part of the country. Some of the area's notable mammal species include guanacos, feral minks, armadillos, culpeos and opossums, and the Patagonian Puma are also found throughout Chile. The Andean Condors is the national bird of Chile. According to BirdLife International, in 2012, Chile was home to 530 bird species, including 14 endemic species, two of which breed in Chile.