A sandwich between sea and continent
July 2, 2024 2:56 PM   Subscribe

Chile is as long as the US and Canada combined. Chile is as long as all of Europe! It can stretch from Norway to Morocco. From London to Baghdad! Chile is so long, it's curved. Why Is Chile So Long? [Uncharted Territories]
posted by chavenet (19 comments total) 18 users marked this as a favorite
 
My guess was because the Andes and I was right.
posted by y2karl at 3:10 PM on July 2 [6 favorites]


Why Is Chile So Long?

Because it's so appropriate!
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:18 PM on July 2 [4 favorites]


helluva biome! California's Great Valley benefits from the Sierra Nevada catching all the rain as snowpack to melt off in the summer, but Chile has all that on a continental scale. Plus all the mineral wealth in the arid northern parts, and the scenic beauty of its latitudinally-challenged region.

KSA's silly "Line" city idea applied to an entire nation!
posted by torokunai at 3:29 PM on July 2 [5 favorites]


I like Chile.
posted by Czjewel at 3:46 PM on July 2 [1 favorite]


With beans or without?
posted by njohnson23 at 4:41 PM on July 2 [2 favorites]




This was an interesting piece, and I liked how the author broke up the texts with maps. Thanks for posting!
posted by Sparky Buttons at 6:13 PM on July 2 [2 favorites]


I will now refer to my brother who lives in Orange County as being the Potentate of the Chilian Empire.

Long Cat Chile is long.
posted by BlueHorse at 6:18 PM on July 2 [1 favorite]


Well, if it was 2,700 miles wide it wouldn't fit on South America, now would it?
posted by chasing at 6:40 PM on July 2 [7 favorites]


Why Is Chile So Long?

In two words
posted by y2karl at 8:18 PM on July 2 [2 favorites]


Reading that article, I’m reminded of this “SCTV” skit.
posted by New Frontier at 9:11 PM on July 2 [2 favorites]


Dinner with Andes - Menu

Main course: Chile
Dessert: Mints
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 10:24 PM on July 2 [5 favorites]


Amazing! I feel so much better educated now. Also, longcountry is long.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 2:14 AM on July 3 [2 favorites]


I enjoyed this article immensely, but the contention that "the south is too cold for people to live" is not entirely accurate. Plenty of people live on the Chiloe archipelago and, on the mainland, in the city of Puerto Montt, both of which are about halfway between Santiago and the southern tip of Chilean Patagonia.

Would I RECOMMEND spending the winter there? Only if you like lots and lots of rain and very little solar gain. Through a set of circumstances, I spent the first three months of the pandemia (March - June) in Chiloe, where you couldn't leave the archipelago without official permission. Winter was drawing nigh, it wouldn't stop raining, and my cabin had no central heat. I finally did leave in June when I realized I'd probably go crackers if I didn't. But it took some doing.

Would I recommend VISITING the south of Chile at a more auspicious time? Heck yeah.
posted by rabia.elizabeth at 4:48 AM on July 3 [9 favorites]


Super interesting, thanks for posting!
posted by ellieBOA at 1:53 PM on July 3 [1 favorite]


Previously, on Metafilter: another long Chile (also long Texas and long Idaho). Here's a blog post about it.
posted by mhum at 2:50 PM on July 3 [2 favorites]


Reading that article, I’m reminded of this “SCTV” skit .

I knew exactly what you were linking there and for a fact that same skit came to mind when this post came up. SCTV was peak 1980s and the CCCP 1 episode was peak SCTV. Culturally speaking, Canada is the Greece to our Rome. Canadians rule, period.
posted by y2karl at 4:18 PM on July 3


What a great article, cool map ideas too, thanks for posting chavenet

Page 3 of this paper shows the extreme longness, and thinness of Chile New aluminum hyperaccumulator species of the Proteaceae
family from southern South America
. [1Mb Spring Academia]

I was searching for a plant (and found it) and I thought of this post. It's odd to see a country outline sitting in space like in this graphic.
posted by unearthed at 11:50 AM on July 4


@Greg_Ace

Which is why I say: Chile today, Hot Tamale.
posted by indianbadger1 at 7:13 AM on July 5


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