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Santiago (Spanish full Santiago de Chile) is Chile's capital and, when viewed as a conurbation —Greater Santiago—, its largest city. It is situated at an elevation of 520 m (1700 ft) in the country's central valley. Although Santiago is the capital, legislative bodies meet in nearby Valparaíso. Throughout this article the term Santiago will normally refer to the Greater Santiago area, however, there are several other entities which bear the name of Santiago and need to be explained. The municipality (or comuna) of Santiago (sometimes referred to as Santiago Centro), is a subdivision of the Santiago Province which itself is a subdivision of the Santiago Metropolitan Region. The municipality is administered by the Municipality of Santiago (Municipalidad de Santiago) which is a separate legal entity with an elected mayor and council. It encompasses the oldest part of Greater Santiago, including downtown, and houses all major government infrastructure, including the government palace La Moneda. It has an area of 22.4 km² and a population of 200,792 (2002 census).
HistorySantiago was founded by Pedro de Valdivia on February 12, 1541 with the name Santiago de Nueva Extremadura. The founding ceremony was held on Huelén Hill (later renamed Cerro Santa Lucía). Valdivia chose the location of Santiago because of its moderate climate and the ease with which it could be defended—the Mapocho River splits into two branches and rejoins further downstream, forming an island. The city was destroyed on September 11, 1541 by the Indian forces under the chief Michimalonco, which led to the Arauco War. Image:Catedral de Santiago.JPG Santiago's Metropolitan Cathedral The first buildings were erected with the help of the native Picunche Indians. The south bank of the Mapocho River was later drained and converted into a public promenade, known as the Alameda (now Avenida Alameda Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins). The city was slightly damaged during the War of Independence (1810–18), in the Battle of Maipú, which was fought south-west of the city. Santiago was named capital in 1818. Image:Fundacion de Santiago.jpg The Founding of Santiago by Pedro de Valdivia by Pedro Lira (1889)
In the 1880s extraction of nitrate fertilizer in Northern Chile brought prosperity to the country, and promoted the capital city's development. Important landmarks were built in 1910 during the Centennial celebrations of independence from Spain, such as the National Library, the Museum of Fine Arts and the Estación Mapocho. Santiago began its transformation into a modern city in the 1930s, with the building of the Barrio Cívico, surrounding El Palacio de La Moneda. The city also grew in population, due to migration from the north and south of Chile. In 1985 an earthquake destroyed some historically significant buildings in the downtown area. Santiago is now often considered the second most important financial center in Latin America after São Paulo, Brazil[citation needed]. ClimateSantiago has a mild Mediterranean climate: relatively hot dry summers (November to March) with temperatures reaching up to 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) on the hottest days; winters (June to August) are more humid, with typical maximum daily temperatures of 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit), and minimums of a few degrees above freezing. Occasional snowfall occur on higher suburbs of the city. Mean rainfall is 338 mm per year.
Image:Santiago by Night.jpeg Panorama view Santiago, seen from Providencia Thermal inversion (a meteorological phenomenon whereby a stable layer of warm air holds down colder air close to the ground) causes high levels of smog and air pollution to be trapped and concentrate within the Central Valley during winter months. In the 1990s air pollution fell by about one-third, but there has been little progress since 2000. The Mapocho river, which crosses the city from the north-east to the south-west of the Central Valley, is contaminated by industrial and household sewage, dumped unfiltered into the river, and by upstream copper-mining waste (there are a number of copper mines in the Andes east of Santiago). The central government recently passed a law that forces industry and local governments to process all their wastewater by 2006. There are now a number of large wastewater processing and recycling plants under construction. There are ongoing plans to decontaminate the river and make it navigable. Sound levels on the main streets are high, mostly because of noisy diesel buses. Diesel trucks and buses are also major contributors to winter smog. A lengthy replacement process of the bus system began in 2005 and will last until 2010 (see Transportation section below). DemographicsThe population of Santiago's urban agglomeration grew from 0.982 million in 1940 to 2.82 million in 1970 and 4.75 million in 1992. According to the 2002 census, it contains a population of about 5.43 million, equivalent to nearly 37% of the total population of the country and 43% of the total urban population, making it one of the largest cities in Latin America. The city is increasingly receiving immigration from other countries in Latin America due to comparatively strong economic growth. Many Peruvians live in Santiago, as well as Bolivians, Argentines, and Ecuadorians. EconomyImage:132547401 94d1582e36 m.jpg Buildings in Santiago Santiago is the industrial and financial center of Chile, and generates 45 percent of the country's GDP. The city, along with Buenos Aires and São Paulo, is one of the main financial centres of South America. Some international institutions, such as ECLAC (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean), have their offices in Santiago. In recent years, due to the strong growth and stability of the Chilean economy, many multinational companies have chosen Santiago as the place for their headquarters in the region, like HP, Reuters, JP Morgan, Intel, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Nestlé, Kodak, BHP Billiton, IBM, Motorola, Microsoft, Ford, Yahoo!, and many more. ConstructionImage:109242412 cf1148096b o.jpg Costanera Center The property market is booming in Santiago. Several large apartment complexes are being built throughout the city and construction cranes are a common sight. Currently under construction is the Costanera Center, a mega project in Santiago's Financial District. This includes a 280 000 square meter mall, a 300 meter tower, two office towers of 170 meters each, and a hotel 105 meters tall. When completed in 2010 it will be the tallest building in South America. Near Costanera Center another skyscraper is being built, Titanium La Portada, and this will be 190 meters tall. Although these are the two biggest projects, there are many other office buildings under construction in Santiago, as well as hundreds of high rise residential buildings. TransportAirArturo Merino Benítez International Airport is Santiago's national and international airport. RailTrains operated by Chile's national railway, Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado, connect Santiago to Temuco, in the central-southern part of the country. All such trains arrive and depart from the Estación Central ("Central Station"). CoachesCoach travel companies provide passengers transportation from Santiago to most areas of the country. HighwaysThere are several new inter-urban toll highways connecting the city's extremes including the Vespucio Highway (which surrounds the city describing a semi-circle), Ruta 5 (crosses the city in North-South direction) and the Costanera Norte (which runs from the eastern side in Las Condes to the western in Pudahuel). MetroImage:Metro station in Santiago Chile.jpg Santiago Metro-Universidad de Chile station is decorated with works of art The Santiago Metro has five operating lines but their coverage is still somewhat limited. Two subway lines (Line 4 and 4A) and an extension of Line 2 were inaugurated during late 2005 and 2006. The system is under expansion, and extensions are going to be built on Lines 1 and 5 throughout 2009. TransantiagoTransantiago is the name for the city's public transport system. It was introduced on February 10 2007, replacing the previous chaotic system run by thousands of independent bus operators. The system works by combining local bus lines, main bus lines and the metro network. It includes an integrated fare system, which allows passengers to make bus-to-bus or bus-to-metro transfers for the price of one ticket, using a single contactless smartcard. TaxiTaxicabs can usually be found on the streets and are painted black with yellow roofs; unmarked taxis may be called up by telephone (Radiotaxis). Colectivos are shared taxicabs that carry passengers along a specific route, for a fixed fee. Political divisionsImage:SantiagoSatellite.jpg Satellite image of Santiago Image:Comunas de Santiago (nombres).svg Map of the municipalities of Santiago Greater Santiago extends throughout 37 municipalities and covered 64,140 ha in 2002. The majority of Santiago lies within the same named province, with some peripheral areas contained in the provinces of Talagante, Maipo and Cordillera. Specifically, Santiago joins the cities of San Bernardo (Maipo province) and Puente Alto (Cordillera province) to form the Greater Santiago conurbation. The province of Santiago is divided into 32 municipalities (comunas in Spanish). Each municipality in Chile is headed by a mayor (alcalde) elected by voters every four years. The members of the municipal council (concejales) are elected in the same election on a separate ballot. The 32 municipalities are: Cerrillos, Conchalí, Cerro Navia, El Bosque, Estación Central, Huechuraba, Independencia, La Cisterna, La Florida, La Granja, La Pintana, La Reina, Las Condes, Lo Barnechea, Lo Espejo, Lo Prado, Macul, Maipú, Ñuñoa, Pedro Aguirre Cerda, Peñalolén, Pudahuel, Providencia, Quilicura, Quinta Normal, Renca, Recoleta, San Joaquín, San Miguel, San Ramón, Santiago Centro, and Vitacura. Cultural lifeImage:Palacio de La Moneda.png Palacio de La Moneda in downtown Santiago Image:Bellasartes.jpg Bellas Artes museum Image:Valle Nevado.jpg Valle Nevado Image:Bolsantiago.jpg Italic textBold textSantiago Stock ExchangeItalic text MusicThere are two symphonic orchestras:
There are also various jazz establishments, the most notable being the Club de Jazz in Ñuñoa. MuseumsMuseums include:
RecreationThe city's main parks are:
Modern ski resorts within an hour's drive east from the city include:
Some of the country's most important winegrowing areas lie in the nearby Maipo and Aconcagua Valleys. Several vineyards are located in this area: Cultural places to visit include:
Main soccer stadiums:
ReligionMost of Chile's population is Catholic and Santiago is no exception. According to the National Census, carried out in 2002 by the National Statistics Bureau (INE), in the Santiago Metropolitan Region, 3,129,249 people 15 and older identified themselves as Catholics, equivalent to 68.7% of the total population, while 595,173 (13.1%) described themselves as Evangelical Protestants. Around 1.2% of the population declared to be Jehovah's Witnesses, while 0.9% identified themselves as Latter-day Saints (Mormons), 0.25 as Jewish, 0.03 as Muslims and 0.11 as Orthodoxs. Approximately 10.4% of the population of the Metropolitan Region stated that they were atheist or agnostic, while 5.4% declared to follow other religions. Source: INE, Chile, 2002 Census [1] UniversitiesTraditional
Non-Traditional (Private)
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