Santiago de Chile

Home - Independent Countries - Chile - Santiago de Chile
Santiago de Chile

Santiago de Chile

The capital of Chile, Santiago lies on a canalized section of the Mapocho River, overlooking high Andean peaks to the east. It was founded as Santiago del Nuevo Extremo by the Spanish conquistador Pedro de Valdivia in 1541. The territory was populated by the Pikunche Indians, who were brought under the rule of Spanish settlers. The city is located in the middle of the Santiago Basin, in a big, bowl-shaped valley surrounded by mountains and wide, fertile fields. Santiago's natural vegetation is composed of a thorn forest of Vachellia caven and Prosopis chilensis in the west, and a coexistence of Vachellia caven and Baccharis paniculata around the Andean foothills in the east. Santiago is situated in the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the two tectonic plates, the Nazca Plate and the South American Plate collide. In 1575, just 34 years after its founding, the first recorded earthquake struck Santiago. The city suffered the most catastrophic earthquake in its history in 1647, which inspired Heinrich von Kleist's novel The Earthquake in Chile. Because of the earthquakes, only a few historic buildings from the Spanish colonial period remain in the city. The buildings that remain include the Casa Colorada (1769), the San Francisco Church (1586) and the Posada del Corregidor (1750). There are 174 heritage sites within the metropolitan area of Santiago under the supervision of the National Monuments Council, including archaeological, architectural and historical monuments, quarters and character areas. Some 93 of these are located in the commune of Santiago, which is considered the historic center of the city.