Santiago De Cao, Peru
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the
capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
and largest city of
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
as well as one of the
largest cities in the Americas This is a list of the 50 largest cities in the Americas by population residing within city limits as of 2015, the most recent year for which official population census results, estimates or short-term projections are available for most of these ci ...
. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated
region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
, the
Santiago Metropolitan Region Santiago Metropolitan Region ( es, link=no, Región Metropolitana de Santiago) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions. It is the country's only landlocked administrative region and contains the nation's capital, Santiago. Mos ...
, whose total population is 8 million which is nearly 40% of the country's population, of which more than 6 million live in the city's continuous urban area. The city is entirely in the country's central valley. Most of the city lies between
above mean sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...
. Founded in 1541 by the Spanish
conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...
Pedro de Valdivia Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia or Valdiva (; April 17, 1497 – December 25, 1553) was a Spanish conquistador and the first royal governor of Chile. After serving with the Spanish army in Italy and Flanders, he was sent to South America in 1534, whe ...
, Santiago has been the capital city of Chile since colonial times. The city has a downtown core of 19th-century neoclassical architecture and winding side-streets, dotted by art deco, neo-gothic, and other styles. Santiago's cityscape is shaped by several stand-alone hills and the fast-flowing
Mapocho River The River Mapocho ( es, Río Mapocho) ( Mapudungun: ''Mapu chuco'', "water that penetrates the land") is a river in Chile. It flows from its source in the Andes mountains onto the west and divides Chile's capital Santiago in two. Course The Mapo ...
, lined by parks such as
Parque Forestal Parque Forestal is an urban park in the city of Santiago, Chile. The park was created on reclaimed land from the Mapocho River and is located in the historical downtown of Santiago, west of Plaza Baquedano and east of Estación Mapocho. It is borde ...
and
Balmaceda Park Balmaceda Park is an urban park along the Mapocho River in Providencia, Santiago de Chile. It was originally created under the name of Parque Japonés (Japanese Park) in 1930. When Chile joined the Allies during the World War II, its name was cha ...
. The
Andes Mountains The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the List of mountain ranges#Mountain ranges by length, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range i ...
can be seen from most points in the city. These mountains contribute to a considerable
smog Smog, or smoke fog, is a type of intense air pollution. The word "smog" was coined in the early 20th century, and is a portmanteau of the words ''smoke'' and '' fog'' to refer to smoky fog due to its opacity, and odor. The word was then inte ...
problem, particularly during winter, due to the lack of rain. The city outskirts are surrounded by vineyards and Santiago is within an hour of both the mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Santiago is the political and financial center of Chile and is home to the regional headquarters of many multinational corporations. The Chilean executive and judiciary are located in Santiago, but Congress meets mostly in nearby
Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...
. Santiago is named after the biblical figure Saint James. The city will host the
2023 Pan American Games The 2023 Pan American Games ( es, Juegos Panamericanos de 2023, links=no), officially the XIX Pan American Games and commonly known as Santiago 2023, is a forthcoming international multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization, s ...
.


Nomenclature

In Chile, there are several entities which have the name of "Santiago" that are often confused. The
commune of Santiago A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...
, sometimes referred to as "Downtown/Central Santiago" (''Santiago Centro''), is an
administrative division Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
that comprises roughly the area occupied by the city during its colonial period. The commune, administered by the Municipality of Santiago and headed by a mayor, is part of the Santiago Province headed by a provincial delegate, which is in itself a subdivision of the
Santiago Metropolitan Region Santiago Metropolitan Region ( es, link=no, Región Metropolitana de Santiago) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions. It is the country's only landlocked administrative region and contains the nation's capital, Santiago. Mos ...
headed by a
governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
. While the mayor and governor are elected by popular vote, the provincial delegate is designated by the President of the Republic as its local representative. Despite these classifications, when the term "Santiago" is used without another descriptor, it usually refers to what is also known as Greater Santiago (''Gran Santiago''), the
metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...
defined by its urban continuity that includes the
commune of Santiago A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...
and more than 40 other communes, which together comprise the majority of the Santiago Province and some areas of neighboring provinces (see Political divisions). The definition of this metropolitan area has evolved due to the continuing expansion of the city and the absorption of smaller cities and rural areas. The name of "Santiago" originates in the name chosen by the Spanish conqueror, Pedro de Valdivia, when he founded the city in 1541. Valdivia honored
James the Great James the Great, also known as James, son of Zebedee, Saint James the Great, Saint James the Greater, Saint James the Elder, or Saint Jacob (Aramaic ܝܥܩܘܒ ܒܪ ܙܒܕܝ, Arabic يعقوب, Hebrew בן זבדי , '' Yaʿăqōḇ'', Latin '' ...
, the
patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
of
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
. In the
Spanish language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...
, the name of this saint is rendered in different ways, as
Diego Diego is a Spanish masculine given name. The Portuguese equivalent is Diogo. The name also has several patronymic derivations, listed below. The etymology of Diego is disputed, with two major origin hypotheses: ''Tiago'' and ''Didacus''. Et ...
,
Jaime Jaime is a common Spanish and Portuguese male given name for Jacob (name), James (name), Jamie, or Jacques. In Occitania Jacobus became ''Jacome'' and later ''Jacme''. In east Spain, ''Jacme'' became ''Jaime'', in Aragon it became ''Chaime'', and i ...
,
Jacobo Jacobo is both a surname and a given name of Spanish origin. Based on the name Jacob. Notable people with the name include: Surname: * Alfredo Jacobo (born 1982), Olympic breaststroke swimmer from Mexico * Cesar Chavez Jacobo, Dominican profession ...
or
Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...
; the latter is derived from the Galician evolution of
Vulgar Latin Vulgar Latin, also known as Popular or Colloquial Latin, is the range of non-formal Register (sociolinguistics), registers of Latin spoken from the Crisis of the Roman Republic, Late Roman Republic onward. Through time, Vulgar Latin would evolve ...
''Sanctu Iacobu''. There is no indigenous name for the area occupied by Santiago;
Mapuche The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who sha ...
language uses the name "Santiaw" as an adaptation of the Spanish name of the city. When founded, Valdivia used the name "Santiago del Nuevo Extremo" or "
Nueva Extremadura Nueva Extremadura means "New Extremadura" in Spanish, and originates from Extremadura, Spain. Nueva Extremadura could refer to * a large jurisdiction in the north of New Spain, bordered in the 17th century to its west and south by Nueva Vizcaya, b ...
", based on the territory he expected to colonize and that he named honoring his native
Extremadura Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, it ...
. The name didn't persist for long and was eventually replaced by the local name of Chile. To differentiate with other cities called Santiago, the South American city is sometimes called "Santiago de Chile" in Spanish and other languages. The city and region's
demonym A demonym (; ) or gentilic () is a word that identifies a group of people (inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place (hamlet, village, town, city, region, province, ...
is ''santiaguinos'' (male) and ''santiaguinas'' (female).


History


Prehistory

According to certain archeological investigations, it is believed that the first human groups reached the Santiago basin in the
10th millennium BC The 10th millennium BC spanned the years 10,000 BC to 9001 BC (c. 12 ka to c. 11 ka). It marks the beginning of the transition from the Palaeolithic to the Neolithic via the interim Mesolithic ( Northern Europe and Western Europe) and Epip ...
. The groups were mainly
nomad A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...
ic hunter-gatherers, who traveled from the coast to the interior in search of
guanacos The guanaco (; ''Lama guanicoe'') is a camelid native to South America, closely related to the llama. Guanacos are one of two wild South American camelids, the other being the vicuña, which lives at higher elevations. Etymology The guanaco g ...
during the time of the Andean snowmelt. About the year 800, the first
sedentary Sedentary lifestyle is a lifestyle type, in which one is physically inactive and does little or no physical movement and or exercise. A person living a sedentary lifestyle is often sitting or lying down while engaged in an activity like soci ...
inhabitants began to settle due to the formation of agricultural communities along the
Mapocho River The River Mapocho ( es, Río Mapocho) ( Mapudungun: ''Mapu chuco'', "water that penetrates the land") is a river in Chile. It flows from its source in the Andes mountains onto the west and divides Chile's capital Santiago in two. Course The Mapo ...
, mainly
maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
,
potatoes The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern United ...
and
beans A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...
, and the domestication of
camelids Camelids are members of the biological family Camelidae, the only currently living family in the suborder Tylopoda. The seven extant members of this group are: dromedary camels, Bactrian camels, wild Bactrian camels, llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, ...
in the area. The villages established in the areas belonging to the
Picunche The Picunche (a Mapudungun word meaning "North People"), also referred to as ''picones'' by the Spanish, were a Mapudungun-speaking people living to the north of the Mapuches or Araucanians (a name given to those Mapuche living between the Itata an ...
s (the name given by Chileans) or
Promaucae people Promaucae, also spelled as ''Promaucas'' or ''Purumaucas'' (from Quechua ''purum awqa'': wild enemy), were an indigenous pre-Columbian Mapuche tribal group that lived in the present territory of Chile, south of the Maipo River basin of Santiago, C ...
(name given by the Incas), were subject to the
Inca Empire The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts",  "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...
throughout the late fifteenth century and into the early sixteenth century. The Incas settled in the valley of
mitima Mitma was a policy of forced resettlement employed by the Inca empire, Incas. It involved the forceful migration of groups of extended families or ethnic groups from their home territory to lands recently conquered by the Incas. The objective was to ...
s, the main installation settled in the center of the present city, with strongholds such as
Huaca de Chena Huaca de Chena, also known as the Chena Pukara, is an Inca site on Chena Mountain, in the basin of San Bernardo, at the edge of the Calera de Tango and Maipo Province communes in Chile. Tala Canta Ilabe was the last Inca who celebrated Inti ...
and the sanctuary of El Plomo hill. The area would have served as a basis for the failed Inca expeditions southward road junction as the
Inca Trail The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu (also known as ''Camino Inca'' or ''Camino Inka'') is a hiking trail in Peru that terminates at Machu Picchu. It consists of three overlapping trails: ''Mollepata'', ''Classic'', and ''One Day''. ''Mollepata'' is ...
.


Founding of the city

Having been sent by
Francisco Pizarro Francisco Pizarro González, Marquess of the Atabillos (; ;  – 26 June 1541) was a Spanish conquistador, best known for his expeditions that led to the Spanish conquest of Peru. Born in Trujillo, Spain to a poor family, Pizarro chose ...
from
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...
and having made the long journey from
Cuzco Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the seventh most populous in Peru; ...
,
Extremadura Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, it ...
conquistador
Pedro de Valdivia Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia or Valdiva (; April 17, 1497 – December 25, 1553) was a Spanish conquistador and the first royal governor of Chile. After serving with the Spanish army in Italy and Flanders, he was sent to South America in 1534, whe ...
reached the valley of the Mapocho on 13 December 1540. The hosts of Valdivia camped by the river in the slopes of the Tupahue hill and slowly began to interact with the Picunche people who inhabited the area. Valdivia later summoned the chiefs of the area to a parliament, where he explained his intention to found a city on behalf of the king
Carlos I of Spain Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) fro ...
, which would be the capital of his governorship of
Nueva Extremadura Nueva Extremadura means "New Extremadura" in Spanish, and originates from Extremadura, Spain. Nueva Extremadura could refer to * a large jurisdiction in the north of New Spain, bordered in the 17th century to its west and south by Nueva Vizcaya, b ...
. The natives accepted and even recommended the foundation of the town on a small island between two branches of the river next to a small hill called Huelén. On 12 February 1541 Valdivia officially founded the city of ''Santiago del Nuevo Extremo'' (''Santiago of New Extremadura'') near the Huelén, renamed by the conqueror as Santa Lucia. Following colonial rule, Valdivia entrusted the layout of the new town to master builder
Pedro de Gamboa Pedro de Gamboa (died 1550) was a Spanish soldier who fought for Henry VIII of England in France and Scotland. He was from Madrid. In 1545 he commanded a company of Spanish soldiers for the Earl of Hertford. Eustace Chapuys describes him as a ''Ma ...
, who would design the city grid layout. In the center of the city, Gamboa designed a Plaza Mayor, around which various plots for the
Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
and the
governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
's house were selected. In total, eight blocks from north to south, and ten from east to west, were built. Each solar (quarter block) was given to the settlers, who built houses of mud and straw. Valdivia left months later to the south with his troops, beginning the
War of Arauco The Arauco War was a long-running conflict between colonial Spaniards and the Mapuche people, mostly fought in the Araucanía. The conflict began at first as a reaction to the Spanish conquerors attempting to establish cities and force Mapuche ...
. Santiago was left unprotected. The indigenous hosts of
Michimalonco Michima Lonco (fl. mid-16th century) (''michima'' means "foreigner" and ''lonco'' means "head" or "chief" in Mapudungun language) was a Picunche chief said to be a great warrior, born in the Aconcagua Valley and educated in Cusco by the Inca E ...
used this to their advantage, and attacked the fledgling city. On 11 September 1541, the city was destroyed by the natives, but the 55-strong Spanish Garrison managed to defend the fort. The resistance was led by Inés de Suárez, a mistress to Valdivia. When she realized they were being overrun, she ordered the execution of all native prisoners, and proceeded to put their heads on pikes and also threw a few heads to the natives. In face of this barbaric act, the natives dispersed in terror. The city would be slowly rebuilt, giving prominence to the newly founded Concepción, where the Royal Audiencia of Chile was then founded in 1565. However, the constant danger faced by Concepción, due partly to its proximity to the War of Arauco and also to a succession of devastating earthquakes, would not allow the definitive establishment of the Royal Court in Santiago until 1607. This establishment reaffirmed the city's role as capital. During the early years of the city the Spanish suffered from severe shortages of food and other supplies. The cause of this was a strategy by the local indigenous
Picunche The Picunche (a Mapudungun word meaning "North People"), also referred to as ''picones'' by the Spanish, were a Mapudungun-speaking people living to the north of the Mapuches or Araucanians (a name given to those Mapuche living between the Itata an ...
to stop cultivation and retreat to more distant places. Isolated from reinforcements the Spanish had to resort to eat whatever they found, lack of clothes meant some Spanish came to dress with hides from dogs, cats,
sea lions Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...
and
foxes Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
.


Colonial Santiago

Although early Santiago appeared to be in imminent danger of permanent destruction, threatened by Indigenous attacks, earthquakes, and a series of
floods A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...
, the city began to grow rapidly. Of the 126 blocks designed by Gamboa in 1558, 40 were occupied, and in 1580, the first major buildings in the city began to rise, the start of construction highlighted with the placing of the foundation stone of the first
Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
in 1561 and the building of the church of San Francisco in 1572. Both of these constructions consisted of mainly
adobe Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for ''mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of e ...
and stone. In addition to construction of important buildings, the city began to develop as nearby lands welcomed tens of thousands of livestock. A series of disasters impeded the development of the city during the 16th and 17th centuries: an
earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...
, a 1575
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
epidemic An epidemic (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics ...
, in 1590, 1608, and 1618, the Mapocho River floods, and, finally, the
earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...
of 13 May 1647, which killed over 600 people and affected more than 5,000 others. However, these disasters would not stop the growth of the capital of the
Captaincy General of Chile The Captaincy General of Chile (''Capitanía General de Chile'' ) or Governorate of Chile (known colloquially and unofficially as the Kingdom of Chile), was a territory of the Spanish Empire from 1541 to 1817 that was, for most of its existenc ...
at a time when all the power of the country was centered on the
Plaza de Armas The ''Plaza de Armas'' (literally Weapons Square, but better translated as Parade Square or parade ground) is the name for Latin American main squares. In the central region of Mexico this space is known as El Zócalo and in Central America as ...
santiaguina. In 1767, the corregidor Luis Manuel de Zañartu, launched one of the most important architectural works of the entire colonial period, Calicanto Bridge, effectively connecting the city to
La Chimba LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...
on the north side of the river, and began the construction of embankments to prevent overflows of the Mapocho River. Although its builders were able to complete the bridge, the piers were constantly being damaged by the river. In 1780, Governor
Agustín de Jáuregui Agustín de Jáuregui y Aldecoa (May 17, 1708/1711 – April 29, 1784) was a Spanish politician and soldier who served as governor of Chile (1772–80) and viceroy of Peru (1780–84). Early life Jáuregui was born in Lecároz, the son of Matías ...
hired the Italian architect
Joaquín Toesca Gioacchino Toesca e Ricci (1745–1799; known as Joaquín Toesca in the Spanish Empire) was an Italian architect who worked at the service of the Spanish Empire, mainly in Chile. He was mainly a Neoclassical architect although he also built Baro ...
, who would design, among other important works, the façade of the cathedral, the
Palacio de La Moneda Palacio de La Moneda (, ''Palace of the Mint''), or simply La Moneda, is the seat of the President of the Republic of Chile. It also houses the offices of three cabinet ministers: Interior, General Secretariat of the Presidency and General Secret ...
, the
canal San Carlos Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow und ...
, and the final construction of the embankments during the government of
Ambrosio O'Higgins Ambrosio Bernardo O'Higgins y O'Higgins, 1st Marquess of Osorno (c. 1720 – 19 March 1801) born Ambrose Bernard O'Higgins (''Ambrós Bearnárd Ó hUiginn'', in Irish), was an Irish-Spanish colonial administrator and a member of the O'Higgins fa ...
. These important works were opened permanently in 1798. The O'Higgins government also oversaw the opening of the road to
Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...
in 1791, which connected the capital with the country's main port.


Capital of the Republic

18 September 1810 was proclaimed the First Government Junta in Santiago, beginning the process of establishing the independence of Chile. The city, which became the capital of the new nation, was threatened by various events, especially the nearby military actions. Although some institutions, such as the
National Institute National Institute may refer to: * National Institute on Aging, United States (U.S.) * National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. * National Institute of Mental Health, U.S. * Belgranian National Institute, Argentina * San Martín National Ins ...
and the
National Library A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public library, public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, o ...
, were installed in the
Patria Vieja Patria Vieja (, ) refers to a time period in the History of Chile occurring between the First Junta of the Government (September 18, 1810) and the Disaster of Rancagua (October 1, 1814). In this period, Chilean measures were taken for the impri ...
, they were closed after the patriot defeat at the
Battle of Rancagua The Battle of Rancagua, also known in Chile as the Disaster of Rancagua, occurred on October 1, 1814, to October 2, 1814, when the Spanish Army under the command of Mariano Osorio defeated the rebel Chilean forces led by Bernardo O’Higgins. ...
in 1814. The royal government lasted until 1817, when the
Army of the Andes The Army of the Andes ( es, Ejército de los Andes) was a military force created by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (Argentina) and mustered by general José de San Martín in his campaign to free Chile from the Spanish Empire. In 181 ...
secured victory in
battle of Chacabuco The Battle of Chacabuco, fought during the Chilean War of Independence, occurred on February 12, 1817. The Army of the Andes of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, led by Captain–General José de San Martín, defeated a Spanish for ...
, reinstating the patriot government in Santiago. Independence, however, was not assured. The Spanish army gained new victories in 1818 and headed for Santiago, but their march was definitively halted on the plains of the Maipo River, during the
Battle of Maipú The Battle of Maipú ( es, Batalla de Maipú) was a battle fought near Santiago, Chile on April 5, 1818, between South American rebels and Spanish royalists, during the Chilean War of Independence. The Patriot rebels led by Argentine general Jo ...
on 5 April 1818. With the end of the war,
Bernardo O'Higgins Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme (; August 20, 1778 – October 24, 1842) was a Chilean independence leader who freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. He was a wealthy landowner of Basque-Spanish and Irish ancestry. Althou ...
was accepted as Supreme Director and, like his father, began a number of important works for the city. During the call
Patria Nueva Patria Nueva (''New Fatherland'') was a period in the history of Chile that began with the victory of Ejército de los Andes in the Battle of Chacabuco on 12 February 1817 and ended with the resignation of Bernardo O'Higgins as Supreme Director ...
, closed institutions reopened. The General Cemetery opened, work on the
canal San Carlos Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow und ...
was completed, and, in the south arm of the Mapocho River, known as La Cañada, the drying riverbed, used for sometime as a landfill, was turned into an avenue, now known as the Alameda de las Delicias. Two new earthquakes hit the city, one on 19 November 1822, and another on 20 February 1835. These two events, however, did not prevent the city's rapid, continued growth. In 1820 the city reported 46,000 inhabitants, while in 1854, the population reached 69,018. In 1865, the census reported 115,337 inhabitants. This significant increase was the result of suburban growth to the south and west of the capital, and in part to La Chimba, a vibrant district growing from the division of old properties that existed in the area. This new peripheral development led to the end of the traditional checkerboard structure that previously governed the city center.


19th century

During the years of the Republican era, institutions such as the
University of Chile The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.
(Universidad de Chile), the Normal School of Preceptors, the School of Arts and Crafts, and the
Quinta Normal Quinta Normal is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. It is named after a large park in the area. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Quinta Normal spans an a ...
, which included the Museum of Fine Arts (now Museum of Science and Technology) and the
National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...
, were founded. Created primarily for educational use, they also became examples of public planning during that period. In 1851 the first telegraph system connecting the capital with the Port of Valparaíso was inaugurated. A new momentum in the urban development of the capital took place during the so-called "Liberal Republic" and the administration of Mayor
Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna (August 25, 1831 – January 25, 1886) was a Chilean writer, journalist, historian and politician. Vicuña Mackenna was of Irish and Basque descent. Biography Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna was born in Santiago, the ...
. Among the main works during this period are the remodeling of the
Cerro Santa Lucía Cerro is Spanish for "hill" or "mountain". Toponyms ;Bolivia: * Cerro Rico, the "Rich Mountain" containing silver ore near Potosi, Bolivia ;Brazil: *Cerro Branco, a municipality of Rio Grande do Sul *Cerro Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, a municipa ...
which, despite its central location, had been in a state of poor repair. In an effort to transform Santiago, Vicuña Mackenna began construction of the ''Camino de Cintura'', a road surrounding the entire city. A new redevelopment of the
Alameda Avenue Avenida Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins ( en, General Liberator Bernardo O'Higgins Avenue), popularly known as La Alameda (meaning, a street bordered by poplar trees), is the main avenue of Santiago, Chile. It runs east-west in the center o ...
turned it into the main road of the city. Also during this time and with the work of European landscapers in 1873,
O'Higgins Park O'Higgins Park (, formerly known as Parque Cousiño), with an area of around , is Santiago, Chile's second largest public park after Metropolitan Park. It is located in the center of the capital, in the Santiago Commune. The park, named after B ...
came into existence. The park, open to the public, became a landmark in Santiago due to its large gardens, lakes, and carriage trails. Other important buildings were opened during this era, such as the Teatro Municipal opera house, and the
Club Hípico de Santiago Club Hípico de Santiago is a thoroughbred horse race track in Santiago, Chile. History The Club Hípico de Santiago, opened in 1870, is Chile's oldest racetrack and home to South America's oldest stakes race, the Clásico El Ensayo. It is one ...
. At the same time, the 1875
International Exposition A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...
was held in the grounds of the Quinta Normal. The city became the main hub of the national railway system. The first railroad reached the city on 14 September 1857, at the Santiago Estación Central railway station. Under construction at the time, the station would be opened permanently in 1884. During those years, railways connected the city to Valparaíso as well as regions in the north and south of Chile. The streets of Santiago were paved and by 1875 there were 1,107 railway cars in the city, while 45,000 people used tram services on a daily basis.


The centennial Santiago

With the arrival of the new century, the city began to experience various changes related to the strong development of
industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...
. Valparaíso, which had hitherto been the economic center of the country slowly lost prominence at the expense of the capital. By 1895, 75% of the national manufacturing industry was in the capital and only 28% in the harbor city, and by 1910, major
bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...
s and shops were set up in the streets of the city center, leaving Valparaíso. The enactment of the Autonomous Municipalities' act allowed municipalities to create various administrative divisions around the then Santiago ''departamento'', with the aim of improving local ruling. Maipú,
Ñuñoa Ñuñoa (; from Mapudungun ''Ñuñohue'', "place of yellow flowers") is a commune of the Northeastern zone of Santiago, in the Santiago Metropolitan Region of Chile. According to the 2021 Urban Life Quality Index (ICVU), it is considered the fou ...
,
Renca Renca is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. It was founded on May 6, 1894. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Renca spans an area of and has 133,500 inha ...
, Lampa and Colina were to be created in 1891, Providencia and Barrancas in 1897, and
Las Condes Las Condes is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. The area is inhabited primarily by upper-mid- to high income families, and known in the Chilean collective consciousness as home to the country's economi ...
in 1901. The La Victoria ''departamento'' was split with the creation of Lo Cañas in 1891, which would be split into La Granja and
Puente Alto Puente, a word meaning ''bridge'' in Spanish language, may refer to: People * Puente (surname) Places *La Puente, California, USA * Puente Alto, city and commune of Chile *Puente de Ixtla, city in Mexico *Puente Genil, village in the Spanish provi ...
in 1892, La Florida in 1899, and
La Cisterna La Cisterna (, Spanish for "the cistern") is a commune of Chile and census-designated city located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. It was founded on 30 May 1925. It is part of Greater Santiago. Demographics According to the ...
in 1925. The San Cristobal Hill in this period began a long process of development. In 1903 an
astronomical observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...
was installed and the following year the first stone was placed for its 14-meter
Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
statue, nowadays visible from various points of city. However, the shrine would not be completed until some decades later. With the 1910 Chile Centennial celebrations, many urban projects were undertaken. The railway network was extended allowing connection of the city with its nascent suburbs by a new rail ring and route to the
Cajón del Maipo Cajón del Maipo is a canyon located in the Andean southeastern portion of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, Chile. It encompasses the upper Maipo River basin, where the river has entrenched itself in a narrow valley. The zone features a series ...
, while a new railway station was built in the north of the city: the Mapocho Station. At the Mapocho river's southern side, the
Parque Forestal Parque Forestal is an urban park in the city of Santiago, Chile. The park was created on reclaimed land from the Mapocho River and is located in the historical downtown of Santiago, west of Plaza Baquedano and east of Estación Mapocho. It is borde ...
was created and new buildings such as the Museum of Fine Arts, the Barros Arana public boarding school and the
National Library A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public library, public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, o ...
were opened. In addition, the work would include a sewer system, covering about 85% of the urban population.


Population explosion

The 1920 census estimated the population of Santiago to be 507,296 inhabitants, equivalent to 13.6% of the population of Chile. This represented an increase of 52.5% from the census of 1907, i.e. an annual growth of 3.3%, almost three times the national figure. This growth was mainly due to the arrival of farmers from the south who came to work in factories and railroads which were under construction. However, this growth was experienced on the outskirts and not in the town itself. During this time the downtown district was consolidated into a commercial, financial and administrative center, with the establishment of various portals and locales around Ahumada Street and a Civic District in the immediate surroundings of the
Palace of La Moneda Palacio de La Moneda (, ''Palace of the Mint''), or simply La Moneda, is the seat of the President of the Republic of Chile. It also houses the offices of three cabinet ministers: Interior, General Secretariat of the Presidency and General Secre ...
. The latter project involved the construction of various modernist buildings for the establishment of the offices of
ministries Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...
and other public services, as well as commencing the construction of medium-rise buildings. On the other hand, the traditional inhabitants of the center began to migrate out of the city to more rural areas like Providencia and
Ñuñoa Ñuñoa (; from Mapudungun ''Ñuñohue'', "place of yellow flowers") is a commune of the Northeastern zone of Santiago, in the Santiago Metropolitan Region of Chile. According to the 2021 Urban Life Quality Index (ICVU), it is considered the fou ...
, which hosted the oligarchy and the European immigrant professionals, and San Miguel for middle-class families. Furthermore, in the periphery villas were built various partners from various organizations of the time. Modernity expanded in the city, with the appearance of the first theaters, the extension of the telephone network and the opening of the Airport Los Cerrillos in 1928, among other advances. The feeling that the early 20th century was an era of economic growth due to technological advances contrasted dramatically with the standard of living of lower social classes. The growth of the previous decades led to an unprecedented population explosion starting in 1929. The
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
caused the collapse of the nitrate industry in the north, leaving 60,000 unemployed, which added to the decline in agricultural exports, resulting in a total number for the unemployed to be about 300,000 nationwide. These unemployed workers saw Santiago and its booming industry as the only chance to survive. Many migrants arrived in Santiago with nothing and thousands had to survive on the streets due to the great difficulty in finding a place they could rent. Widespread disease, including tuberculosis, claimed the lives of hundreds of the homeless. Unemployment and living costs increased dramatically whilst the salaries of the population of Santiago fell. The situation would change only several years later with a new industrial boom fostered by
CORFO The Production Development Corporation (CORFO, from es, Corporación de Fomento de la Producción de Chile) is a Chilean governmental organization that was founded in 1939 by President Pedro Aguirre Cerda to promote economic growth in Chile. ...
and the expansion of the state apparatus from the late 1930s. At this time, the aristocracy lost much of its power and the middle class, composed of merchants, bureaucrats and professionals, acquired the role of setting national policy. In this context, Santiago began to develop a substantial middle- and lower-class population, while the upper classes sought refuge in the districts of the capital. Thus, the old moneyed class trips to Cousino and Alameda Park, lost hegemony over popular entertainment venues such as the
National Stadium Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football stadiu ...
emerged in 1938.


Greater Santiago

In the following decades, Santiago continued to grow unabated. In 1940, the city accumulated 952,075 inhabitants, in 1952 this figure rose to 1,350,409 residents and the census of 1960 totaled 1,907,378 santiaguinos. This growth was reflected in the urbanization of rural areas on the periphery, where families of middle and lower class with stable housing were established: in 1930 the urban area had an area of 6500 hectares, which in 1960 reached 20,900 and in 1980 to 38,296. Although most of the communities continued to grow, it is mainly concentrated in outlying communities such as Barrancas to the west,
Conchalí Conchalí () is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. It is a northwestern suburb of Santiago. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Conchalí spans an area of ...
northern and
La Cisterna La Cisterna (, Spanish for "the cistern") is a commune of Chile and census-designated city located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. It was founded on 30 May 1925. It is part of Greater Santiago. Demographics According to the ...
and La Granja to the south. For the upper class, it began to approach the foothills of
Las Condes Las Condes is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. The area is inhabited primarily by upper-mid- to high income families, and known in the Chilean collective consciousness as home to the country's economi ...
and
La Reina La Reina ( Spanish: "The Queen") is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region created in 1963 from an eastern portion of the Ñuñoa commune. It belongs to the Northeastern zone of Santiago de Chile. La Re ...
sector. The center, however, lost people leaving more space for the development of trade, banking and government. Regulation of the growth only began to be implemented during the 1960s with the creation of various development plans for Greater Santiago, a concept that reflected the new reality of a much larger city. In 1958 the Intercommunal Plan of Santiago was released. The proposed scheme set a limit of 38 600 urban and semi hectares for a maximum population of 3,260,000 inhabitants, included plans for the construction of new avenues, like the
Américo Vespucio Avenue Américo Vespucio Avenue is a ring road in Santiago, Chile named after Renaissance cartographer Amerigo Vespucci. Two adjacent sections of the avenue are occupied by Vespucio Norte Express and Vespucio Sur free-flow tolling highways, which are ...
and Panamericana route 5, and the expansion of 'industrial belts'. The celebration of the World Cup in 1962 gave new impetus to implement plans for city improvement. In 1966 the
Santiago Metropolitan Park The Santiago Metropolitan Park is an urban park located within the city of Santiago, capital of Chile. Consisting of the San Cristóbal, Chacarillas and Los Gemelos hills, and the areas of Tupahue, Lo Saldés, Pirámide and Bosque Santiago, the ...
was established in the Cerro San Cristóbal, MINVU began eradicating shanty towns and building new homes. Finally, the Edificio Diego Portales was constructed in 1972. In 1967 the new International Airport Pudahuel was opened, and, after years of discussion, in 1969 construction began on the
Santiago Metro The Santiago Metro ( es, Metro de Santiago) is a rapid transit system serving the city of Santiago, the capital of Chile. It currently consists of seven lines (numbered 1-6 and 4A), 136 stations, and of revenue route. The system is managed by th ...
. The first phase ran beneath the western section of the Alameda and was opened in 1975. The Metro would become one of the most prestigious buildings in the city. In the following years it continued to expand, with two perpendicular lines in place by the end of 1978. Building telecommunications infrastructure was also an important development of this period, as reflected in the construction of the
Torre Entel Torre Entel (Entel Tower) is the name of a high TV and telecommunications tower in Santiago, Chile. Torre Entel has an observation deck open for visitors. Construction began in 1970 during Eduardo Frei Montalva term as president and it was ina ...
, which since its construction in 1975 has become one of the symbols of the capital and the tallest structure in the country for two decades. After the coup of 1973 and the establishment of the
military regime A military dictatorship is a dictatorship in which the military exerts complete or substantial control over political authority, and the dictator is often a high-ranked military officer. The reverse situation is to have civilian control of the m ...
, major changes in urban planning did not take place until the 1980s, when the government adopted a
neoliberal Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent fa ...
economic model. In 1979, the master plan was amended. The urban area was extended to more than 62 000 ha for real estate development. This created
urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...
, especially in La Florida, with the city reaching 40 619 ha in size in the early 1990s. The 1992 census showed that Santiago had become the country's most populous municipality with 328,881 inhabitants. Meanwhile, a strong
earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...
struck the city on 3 March 1985. Although it caused few casualties, it left many people homeless and destroyed many old buildings.


The metropolis in the early twenty-first century

With the start of the transition to democracy in 1990, the city of Santiago had surpassed three million inhabitants, with the majority living in the south: La Florida was the most populous area, followed by
Puente Alto Puente, a word meaning ''bridge'' in Spanish language, may refer to: People * Puente (surname) Places *La Puente, California, USA * Puente Alto, city and commune of Chile *Puente de Ixtla, city in Mexico *Puente Genil, village in the Spanish provi ...
and Maipú. The real estate development in these municipalities and others like
Quilicura Quilicura ( ; ) is a commune of Chile located in capital Santiago. Founded in 1901, it was originally a satellite city on what were then the outskirts of the city of Santiago, but as urban sprawl has set in it is now quickly urbanizing from what w ...
and
Peñalolén Peñalolén (Mapudungun "fraternal meeting place") is a Chilean commune in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. It was founded on November 15, 1984. History The commune was founded on November 15, 1984. Drug arrests During 2019, Ch ...
largely came from the construction of housing projects for middle-class families. Meanwhile, high-income families moved into the foothills, now called Barrio Alto, increasing the population of
Las Condes Las Condes is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. The area is inhabited primarily by upper-mid- to high income families, and known in the Chilean collective consciousness as home to the country's economi ...
and giving rise to new communes like
Vitacura Vitacura is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. It is one of the most expensive and fashionable areas of Santiago. Inhabitants are primarily high income families. It belongs to the Northeastern zone of ...
and
Lo Barnechea Lo Barnechea is a commune located in the northeastern zone of Santiago de Chile, northeastern sector of the province of Santiago and its area corresponds to 48% of this province. Its urban boundaries are: to the north with Los Andes, Chile, Los An ...
. The
Providencia Avenue Avenida Providencia is a major thoroughfare in Santiago, Chile. It runs along the commune of Providencia. Description Providencia begins at the northern terminus of Vicuña Mackenna Avenue as a continuation of Alameda Avenue. Immediately, the op ...
area became an important commercial hub in the eastern sector. This development was extended to Barrio Alto, which became an attractive location for the construction of high-rise buildings. Major companies and financial corporations were established in the area, which gave rise to a thriving modern business center known as '' Sanhattan''. The departure of these companies to Barrio Alto and the construction of
shopping centers A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known collec ...
all around the city created a crisis in the city center. To reinvent the area, the main shopping streets were turned into pedestrian walkways, such as the
Paseo Ahumada Paseo Ahumada is four-block-long street in downtown Santiago. It extends in a north–south direction from Plaza de Armas to the Avenida Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins and is lined by buildings housing retail establishments at their lower l ...
, and the government instituted tax benefits for the construction of residential buildings, which attracted young adults. The city began to face a series of problems generated by disorganized growth.
Air pollution Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...
reached critical levels during the winter months and a layer of
smog Smog, or smoke fog, is a type of intense air pollution. The word "smog" was coined in the early 20th century, and is a portmanteau of the words ''smoke'' and '' fog'' to refer to smoky fog due to its opacity, and odor. The word was then inte ...
settled over the city. The authorities adopted legislative measures to reduce industrial pollution and placed restrictions on vehicle use. The Metro was expanded considerably, lines were extended and three new lines were built between 1997 and 2006 in the southeastern sector. A new extension to Maipú was inaugurated in 2011, at which point the metropolitan railway had a total length of 105 km. In the case of
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
es, the system underwent a major reform in the early 1990s. In 2007 the master plan known as
Transantiago Red Metropolitana de Movilidad (English: ''Metropolitan Mobility Network''; named Transantiago until March 2019) is a public transport system that serves Santiago, the capital of Chile. It is considered the most ambitious transport reform undertak ...
was established. It has faced a number of problems since its launch. Entering the twenty-first century, rapid development continued in Santiago. The Civic District was renewed with the creation of the
Plaza de la Ciudadanía Plaza de la Ciudadanía (, ''Citizenry Square'') is a public square located in the southern façade of the Palacio de La Moneda (Chile's presidential palace) in Santiago. It used to be part of the grass garden and parking area of the Palace. Co ...
and construction of the
Ciudad Parque Bicentenario Ciudad () is the Spanish word for City Ciudad may also refer to: *La Ciudad (archaeological site), Hohokam ruins in Phoenix, Arizona *La Ciudad, district of Durango City, Mexico *''La ciudad'', novel by Mario Levrero 1970 *La Ciudad ''The City'' ...
to commemorate the
bicentenary __NOTOC__ A bicentennial or bicentenary is the two-hundredth anniversary of a part, or the celebrations thereof. It may refer to: Europe *French Revolution bicentennial, commemorating the 200th anniversary of 14 July 1789 uprising, celebrated ...
of the Republic. The development of tall buildings continues in the eastern sector, which culminated in the opening of the
skyscrapers A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...
Titanium La Portada Titanium La Portada is an office building in Santiago, Chile. Located in the capital's high-end financial district of El Golf, it is the second tallest skyscraper in the country. Construction began in January 2007, and was completed in January 201 ...
and
Gran Torre Santiago The Costanera Center Torre 2, better known as Gran Torre Santiago (Great Santiago Tower), and previously known as Torre Gran Costanera, is a 62-story skyscraper in Santiago, Chile, the second tallest in Latin America (behind Mexico's T.Op Torre ...
in the Costanera Center complex. However, socioeconomic inequality and geosocial fragmentation remain two of the most important problems in both the city and the country. On 27 February 2010, a strong earthquake struck the capital, causing some damage to older buildings. However, some modern buildings were also rendered uninhabitable, generating much debate about the actual implementation of mandatory earthquake standards in the modern architecture of Santiago.


Geography

The city lies in the center of the ''Santiago Basin'', a large bowl-shaped valley consisting of broad and fertile lands surrounded by mountains. The city has a varying elevation, gradually increasing from in the western areas to more than in the eastern areas. Santiago's
international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...
, in the west, lies at an altitude of .
Plaza Baquedano Plaza Baquedano, commonly known as Plaza Italia, is a major landmark in Santiago, Chile. The plaza was inaugurated in 1928, being crowned by a monument made by Chilean sculptor Virgínio Arias and featuring General Manuel Baquedano, giving the ...
, near the center, lies at .
Estadio San Carlos de Apoquindo Estadio San Carlos de Apoquindo is a football stadium, in Las Condes in the metropolitan region of Santiago de Chile. It is used mostly for home matches stadium of the Chilean top club CD Universidad Católica which also owns the stadium. The ...
, at the eastern edge of the city, has an elevation of . The Santiago Basin is part of the
Intermediate Depression The Central Valley ( es, Valle Central), Intermediate Depression, or Longitudinal Valley is the depression between the Chilean Coastal Range and the Andes Mountains. The Chilean Central Valley extends from the border with Peru to Puerto Montt in ...
and is remarkably flat, interrupted only by a few "island hills;" among them are
Cerro Renca Cerro Renca ''(Spanish for:Renca Hill)'' is a hill straddling the border between Quilicura to the north and Renca to the south, in the city of Santiago, Chile. This geographic feature rises above the surrounding terrain. The hill, which is abov ...
,
Cerro Blanco Cerro Blanco is a hill and historical landmark in the city of Santiago, Chile. This geographic feature rises above the surrounding terrain and covers a surface area of . It is bordered by Recoleta Avenue on the east, Santos Dumont Avenue on ...
, and
Cerro Santa Lucía Cerro is Spanish for "hill" or "mountain". Toponyms ;Bolivia: * Cerro Rico, the "Rich Mountain" containing silver ore near Potosi, Bolivia ;Brazil: *Cerro Branco, a municipality of Rio Grande do Sul *Cerro Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, a municipa ...
. The basin is approximately in a north–south direction and from east to west. The
Mapocho River The River Mapocho ( es, Río Mapocho) ( Mapudungun: ''Mapu chuco'', "water that penetrates the land") is a river in Chile. It flows from its source in the Andes mountains onto the west and divides Chile's capital Santiago in two. Course The Mapo ...
flows through the city. The city is flanked by the main chain of the
Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...
to the east and the
Chilean Coastal Range The Chilean Coastal Range ( es, Cordillera de la Costa) is a mountain range that runs from north to south along the Pacific coast of South America parallel to the Andean Mountains, extending from Morro de Arica in the north to Taitao Peninsula, ...
to the west. On the north, it is bordered by the ''Cordón de Chacabuco'', a mountain range of the Andes. At the southern border lies the ''Angostura de Paine'', an elongated spur of the Andes that almost reaches the coast. The mountain range immediately bordering the city on the east is known as the
Sierra de Ramón Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following: Places Mountains and mountain ranges * Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico * Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain range i ...
, which was formed due to tectonic activity of the
San Ramón Fault The San Ramón ( es, Falla de San Ramón) is a Chilean geological fault, located in eastern Santiago Metropolitan Region, passing through the eastern part of Santiago marking the boundary between the Chilean Central Valley and the Andes. As an acti ...
. This range reaches 3296 meters at
Cerro de Ramón Cerro is Spanish for "hill" or "mountain". Toponyms ;Bolivia: * Cerro Rico, the "Rich Mountain" containing silver ore near Potosi, Bolivia ;Brazil: * Cerro Branco, a municipality of Rio Grande do Sul * Cerro Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, a munici ...
. The Sierra de Ramón represents the "
Precordillera Precordillera is a Spanish geographical term for hills and mountains lying before a greater range, foothills. The term is derived from ''cordillera'' (mountain range)—literally "pre-mountain range"—and applied usually to the Andes. Some places ...
" of the Andes. further east is the even larger Cordillera of the
Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...
, which has mountains and volcanoes that exceed and on which some glaciers are present. The tallest is the
Tupungato Tupungato, one of the highest mountains in the Americas, is a massive Andean lava dome dating to Pleistocene times. It lies on the border between the Chilean Metropolitan Region (near a major international highway about east of Santiago) and th ...
mountain at . Other mountains include
Tupungatito Volcán Tupungatito is the northernmost historically active stratovolcano of the southern Andes. Part of the Chilean Andes' volcanic segment, it is the northernmost member of the Southern Volcanic Zone (SVZ), which is one of several distinct vol ...
, San José, and Maipo.
Cerro El Plomo Cerro El Plomo is a mountain in the Andes near Santiago, Chile. With an elevation of 5,434 m (17,783 ft), it is the largest peak visible from Santiago on clear days. The adequate season to climb this mountain is between November and March. ...
is the highest mountain visible from Santiago's urban area. During recent decades, urban growth has outgrown the boundaries of the city, expanding to the east up the slopes of the Andean
Precordillera Precordillera is a Spanish geographical term for hills and mountains lying before a greater range, foothills. The term is derived from ''cordillera'' (mountain range)—literally "pre-mountain range"—and applied usually to the Andes. Some places ...
. In areas such as La Dehesa, Lo Curro, and El Arrayan, urban development is present at over 1,000 meters of altitude. The natural vegetation of Santiago is made up of a thorny woodland of ''
Vachellia caven ''Vachellia caven'' (Roman cassie, , aromo criollo, caven, , , espinillo, espinillo de baado, espino, espino maulino) is an ornamental tree in the family Fabaceae. ''Vachellia caven'' is native to Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Urugua ...
'' (also known as ''Acacia caven'' and espinillo) and ''
Prosopis chilensis ''Prosopis chilensis'' is a species of tree in the genus ''Prosopis'', belonging to the family Fabaceae. It is found in parts of central Chile, southern Peru, Bolivia, and Andean (northwestern) Argentina. Its common names include Chilean mesqui ...
'' in the west and an association of ''Vachellia caven'' and
Baccharis paniculata ''Baccharis'' is a genus of perennials and shrubs in the aster family (Asteraceae). They are commonly known as baccharises but sometimes referred to as "brooms", because many members have small thin leaves resembling the true brooms. They are n ...
in the east around the Andean foothills. File:La Parva, centro de esquí (2011D2021A).jpg, Ski Center La Parva File:2019-04-06-12h10m43.jpg, Santiago Metropolitan Park File:Santiago en invierno.jpg, Santiago in the winter File:Santiago de Chile.jpg, Santiago in the summer


Climate

Santiago has a cool
semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
(''BSk'' according to the
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
), with
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
(''Csb'') patterns: warm dry summers (October to March) with temperatures reaching up to on the hottest days; winters (April to September) are cool and humid, with cool to cold mornings; typical daily maximum temperatures of , and low temperatures near . In climate station of Quinta Normal (near downtown) the precipitation average is 341.8 mm, and in climate station of Tobalaba (in higher grounds near the Andes mountains) the precipitation average is 367.8 mm. In the airport area of Pudahuel, mean rainfall is per year, about 80% of which occurs during the winter months (May to September), varying between of rainfall during these months. That amount contrasts with a very sunny season during the summer months between December and March, when rainfall does not exceed on average, caused by an anticyclonic dominance continued for about seven or eight months. There is significant variation within the city, with rainfall at the lower-elevation Pudahuel site near the airport being about 20 percent lower than at the older Quinta Normal site near the city center. Santiago's rainfall is highly variable and heavily influenced by the
El Niño Southern Oscillation EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...
cycle, with rainy years coinciding with El Niño events and dry years with La Niña events.Rutllant, Josè and Fuenzalida, Humberto; "Synoptic Aspects of the Central Chile Rainfall Variability Associated with the Southern Oscillation," ''International Journal of Climatology'', vol. 11 (1991), pp. 63–76 The wettest year since records began in 1866 was 1900 with Paskoff, Roland P.; "Geomorphological Processes and Characteristic Landforms in the Mediterranean Regions of the World," ''Mediterranean Type Ecosystems''; in ''Ecological Studies'', Volume 7, 1973, pp. 53–60 – part of a "pluvial" from 1898 to 1905 that saw an average of over eight years incorporating the second wettest year in 1899 with – and the driest 1924 with . Typically there are lengthy dry spells even in the rainiest of winters, intercepted with similarly lengthy periods of heavy rainfall. For instance, in 1987, the fourth wettest year on record with , there was only in the 36 days between 3 June and 8 July, followed by in the 38 days between 9 July and 15 August. Precipitation is usually only rain, as snowfall only occurs in the
Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...
and
Precordillera Precordillera is a Spanish geographical term for hills and mountains lying before a greater range, foothills. The term is derived from ''cordillera'' (mountain range)—literally "pre-mountain range"—and applied usually to the Andes. Some places ...
, being rare in eastern districts, and extremely rare in most of the city. In winter, the
snow line The climatic snow line is the boundary between a snow-covered and snow-free surface. The actual snow line may adjust seasonally, and be either significantly higher in elevation, or lower. The permanent snow line is the level above which snow wil ...
is about , and it ranges from .''René Garreaud-Salazar'
"Impacto en la variabilidad de la línea de nieve en crecidas invernales en cuencas pluvio-nivales de Chile central"
. Sociedad Chilena de Ingeniería Hidráulica, XI Congreso Chileno. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
The city is affected only occasionally by snowfall. The period between 2000 and 2017 has been registered 9 snowfalls and only two have been measured in the central sector (2007 and 2017). The amount of snow registered in Santiago on 15 July 2017 ranged between 3.0 cm in
Quinta Normal Quinta Normal is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. It is named after a large park in the area. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Quinta Normal spans an a ...
and 10.0 cm in
La Reina La Reina ( Spanish: "The Queen") is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region created in 1963 from an eastern portion of the Ñuñoa commune. It belongs to the Northeastern zone of Santiago de Chile. La Re ...
(Tobalaba). Temperatures vary throughout the year from an average of in January to in June and July. In the summer days are very warm to hot, often reaching over and a record high close to , while nights are very pleasant and cool, at . During autumn and winter the temperature drops, and is slightly lower than . The temperature may even drop to , especially during the morning. The historic low of was in July 1976. Santiago's location within a watershed is one of the most important factors determining the climate of the city. The coastal mountain range serves as a screen that stops the spread of maritime influence, contributing to the increase in annual and daily thermal oscillation (the difference between the maximum and minimum daily temperatures can reach 14 °C) and maintaining low relative humidity, close to an annual average of 70%. It also prevents the entry of air masses, with the exception of some coastal low clouds that penetrate to the basin through the river valleys. Prevailing winds are from the southwest, with an average of , especially during the summer; the winter is less windy.


Natural disasters

Due to Santiago's location on the
Pacific Ring of Fire The Ring of Fire (also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Rim of Fire, the Girdle of Fire or the Circum-Pacific belt) is a region around much of the rim of the Pacific Ocean where many Types of volcanic eruptions, volcanic eruptions and ...
at the boundary of the
Nazca Nazca (; sometimes spelled Nasca; qu, Naska) is a city and system of valleys on the southern coast of Peru. It is also the name of the largest existing town in the Nazca Province. The name is derived from the Nazca culture, which flourished in ...
and
South American plate The South American Plate is a major tectonic plate which includes the continent of South America as well as a sizable region of the Atlantic Ocean seabed extending eastward to the African Plate, with which it forms the southern part of the Mid-A ...
s, it experiences a significant amount of tectonic activity.Buchenau, Jürgen, and Lyman L. Johnson. ''Aftershocks: Earthquakes and Popular Politics in Latin America''. Albuquerque: U of New Mexico, 2009. Print. The first earthquake on record to strike Santiago occurred in 1575, 34 years after the official founding of Santiago. The 1647 Santiago earthquake devastated the city, and inspired
Heinrich von Kleist Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist (18 October 177721 November 1811) was a German poet, dramatist, novelist, short story writer and journalist. His best known works are the theatre plays ''Das Käthchen von Heilbronn'', ''The Broken Jug'', ''Amphit ...
's novel, ''
The Earthquake In Chile ''The Earthquake in Chile'' (german: Das Erdbeben in Chili) is a short story written by Heinrich von Kleist (1777–1811) and published in 1807. The story's central characters are two lovers caught up in the chaos of the 1647 Santiago earthquake in ...
''. The
1960 Valdivia earthquake The 1960 Valdivia earthquake and tsunami ( es, link=no, Terremoto de Valdivia) or the Great Chilean earthquake (''Gran terremoto de Chile'') on 22 May 1960 was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded. Various studies have placed it at 9.4– ...
and the 1985 Algarrobo earthquake both caused damage in Santiago, and led to the development of strict building codes with a view to minimizing future earthquake damage. In 2010 Chile was struck by the sixth largest earthquake ever recorded, reaching 8.8 on the
moment magnitude scale The moment magnitude scale (MMS; denoted explicitly with or Mw, and generally implied with use of a single M for magnitude) is a measure of an earthquake's magnitude ("size" or strength) based on its seismic moment. It was defined in a 1979 pape ...
. 525 people died, of whom 13 were in Santiago, and the damage was estimated at 15–30 billion US dollars. 370,000 homes were damaged, but the building codes implemented after the earlier earthquakes meant that despite the size of the earthquake, damage was far less than that caused a few weeks earlier by the
2010 Haiti earthquake A disaster, catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (department), Ouest department, a ...
, in which at least 100,000 people died. Large
megathrust earthquake Megathrust earthquakes occur at convergent plate boundaries, where one tectonic plate is forced underneath another. The earthquakes are caused by slip along the thrust fault that forms the contact between the two plates. These interplate earthqua ...
s aside, smaller local faults in an around Santiago pose significant earthquake risks. Two faults in particular, San Ramón and El Arrayan, in the east and north of Santiago respectively have been singled out as being particularly dangerous. The easternmost neighborhoods of the city lies in a zone prone to
landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...
s. Landslides of the
debris flow Debris flows are geological phenomena in which water-laden masses of soil and fragmented rock rush down mountainsides, funnel into stream channels, entrain objects in their paths, and form thick, muddy deposits on valley floors. They generally ...
type in particular are a significant hazard.


Environmental issues

Santiago's air is the most polluted air in Chile. In the 1990s
air pollution Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...
fell by about one-third, but there has been little progress since 2000. A study by a Chilean university found in 2010 that pollution in Santiago had doubled since 2002. Particulate matter air pollution is a serious public health concern in Santiago, with atmospheric concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 regularly exceeding standards established by the
US Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...
and
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
. A final major source of Santiago air pollution, one that continues year-round, is the smelter of the
El Teniente El Teniente ("The Lieutenant") is an underground copper mine located in the Chilean Andes, above mean sea level. It is in the commune of Machalí in Cachapoal Province, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Region, near the company town of ...
copper mine. The government does not usually report it as being a local pollution source, as it is just outside the reporting area of the
Santiago Metropolitan Region Santiago Metropolitan Region ( es, link=no, Región Metropolitana de Santiago) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions. It is the country's only landlocked administrative region and contains the nation's capital, Santiago. Mos ...
, being from downtown. During winter months,
thermal inversion In meteorology, an inversion is a deviation from the normal change of an atmospheric property with altitude. It almost always refers to an inversion of the air temperature lapse rate, in which case it is called a temperature inversion. N ...
(a meteorological phenomenon whereby a stable layer of warm air holds down colder air close to the ground) causes high levels of
smog Smog, or smoke fog, is a type of intense air pollution. The word "smog" was coined in the early 20th century, and is a portmanteau of the words ''smoke'' and '' fog'' to refer to smoky fog due to its opacity, and odor. The word was then inte ...
and
air pollution Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...
to be trapped and concentrated within the Central Valley. As of March 2007, only 61% of the wastewater in Santiago was treated, which increased up to 71% by the end of the same year. However, in March 2012, the Mapocho Wastewater Treatment Plant began operations, increasing the wastewater treatment capacity of the city to 100%, making Santiago the first capital city in Latin America to treat all of its municipal sewage. Stray dogs are common in Santiago. However,
rabies Rabies is a viral disease that causes encephalitis in humans and other mammals. Early symptoms can include fever and tingling at the site of exposure. These symptoms are followed by one or more of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, vi ...
is practically non-existent in Chile.


Demographics

According to data collected in the 2002 census by the National Institute of Statistics, the Santiago metropolitan area population reached 5,428,590 inhabitants, equivalent to 35.9% of the national total and 89.6% of total regional inhabitants. This figure reflects broad growth in the population of the city during the 20th century: it had 383,587 inhabitants in 1907; 1,010,102 in 1940; 2,009,118 in 1960; 3,899,619 in 1982; and 4,729,118 in 1992.Se consideran en total las comunas de la Provincia de Santiago, más
Padre Hurtado Padre Hurtado () is a Chilean commune in the Talagante Province, in the Metropolitan Region. Part of the Greater Santiago conurbation and one of the outermost communes of it, the commune is named after Saint Alberto Hurtado, who was popularly k ...
,
Pirque Pirque () is a commune of Chile in Cordillera Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region; it is located 2.8 kilometers southeast of Puente Alto and 21.3 kilometers south-southeast of the center of Santiago. It is situated at the base of the Cajón de ...
,
Puente Alto Puente, a word meaning ''bridge'' in Spanish language, may refer to: People * Puente (surname) Places *La Puente, California, USA * Puente Alto, city and commune of Chile *Puente de Ixtla, city in Mexico *Puente Genil, village in the Spanish provi ...
y San Bernardo. Estas cifras no son equivalentes a la de la ciudad de Santiago pues excluyen ciertas áreas fuera de dichas comunas e incluyen algunas zonas rurales; sin embargo, representa a un 95,4% de la población total del área metropolitana.
(percentage of total population, 2007) The growth of Santiago has undergone several changes over the course of its history. In its early years, the city had a rate of growth 2.9% annually until the 17th century, then down to less than 2% per year until the early 20th century figures. During the 20th century, Santiago experienced a demographic explosion as it absorbed migration from mining camps in northern Chile during the economic crisis of the 1930s. The population surged again via migration from rural sectors between 1940 and 1960. This migration was coupled with high fertility rates, and annual growth reached 4.9% between 1952 and 1960. Growth has declined, reaching 1.4% in the early 2000s. The size of the city expanded constantly; The 20,000 hectares Santiago covered in 1960 doubled by 1980, reaching 64,140 hectares in 2002. The population density in Santiago is 8,464 inhabitants/km2. The population of Santiago has seen a steady increase in recent years. In 1990 the total population under 20 years was 38.0% and 8.9% were over 60. Estimates in 2007 show that 32.9% of men and 30.7% of women were less than 20 years old, while 10.2% of men and 13.4% of women were over 60 years. For the year 2020, it is estimated that the figures will be 26.7% and 16.8%. 4,313,719 people in Chile say they were born in one of the communes of the
Santiago Metropolitan Region Santiago Metropolitan Region ( es, link=no, Región Metropolitana de Santiago) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions. It is the country's only landlocked administrative region and contains the nation's capital, Santiago. Mos ...
, which, according to the 2002 census, amounts to 28.5% of the national total. 67.6% of the inhabitants of Santiago claim to have been born in one of the communes of the metropolitan area. In communes such as
Santiago Centro The Commune of Santiago is the central commune of the Santiago Province, located at the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Region in Chile's Central Zone. Locally, Santiago is usually abbreviated ''Stgo.'' It is also called as "Santiago Centro" ...
and Independencia, according to 2017 census, 1/3 of residents is a Latin American immigrant (28% and 31% of the population of these communes, respectively). Canal 13
Censo 2017: 28% de habitantes en la comuna de Santiago son inmigrantes
. Published: 2018-5-5.
Other communes of Greater Santiago with high numbers of immigrants are
Estación Central Estación Central ((), Spanish for "central station") is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. Its namesake is the Estación Central railway station located in the commune. Demographics According to th ...
(17%) and Recoleta (16%).Estas son las comunas de Chile con mayor porcentaje de población extranjera
. ''24 Horas Chile''. Published 2018-5-5.


Economy

Santiago is the industrial and financial center of Chile, and generates 45% of the country's
GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...
. Some international institutions, such as
ECLAC The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, known as ECLAC, UNECLAC or in Spanish and Portuguese CEPAL, is a United Nations regional commission to encourage economic cooperation. ECLAC includes 46 member States (2 ...
(Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean), have their offices in Santiago. The strong economy and low government debt is attracting migrants from Europe and the United States. Santiago's steady economic growth over the past few decades has transformed it into a modern metropolis. The city is now home to a growing theater and restaurant scene, extensive suburban development, dozens of shopping centers, and a rising skyline, including the second tallest building in Latin America, the
Gran Torre Santiago The Costanera Center Torre 2, better known as Gran Torre Santiago (Great Santiago Tower), and previously known as Torre Gran Costanera, is a 62-story skyscraper in Santiago, Chile, the second tallest in Latin America (behind Mexico's T.Op Torre ...
. It includes several major universities, and has developed a modern transportation infrastructure, including a
free flow Open road tolling (ORT), also called all-electronic tolling, cashless tolling, or free-flow tolling, is the collection of tolls on toll roads without the use of toll booths. An electronic toll collection system is usually used instead. The m ...
toll-based, partly underground urban freeway system and the
Metro de Santiago The Santiago Metro ( es, Metro de Santiago) is a rapid transit system serving the city of Santiago, the capital of Chile. It currently consists of seven lines (numbered 1-6 and 4A), 136 stations, and of revenue route. The system is managed by th ...
, South America's most extensive subway system. Santiago is an economically divided city ( Gini coefficient of 0.47). The western half (''zona poniente'') of the city is, on average, much poorer than the eastern communes, where the high-standard public and private facilities are concentrated.


Commercial development

The
Costanera Center The Costanera Center is a business and commercial complex that includes a six-floor shopping mall, the Gran Torre Santiago and three other skyscrapers – two high-end hotels and an office building. The complex is located in the commune of Provid ...
, a mega project in Santiago's Financial District, includes a mall, a tower, two office towers of each, and a hotel tall. In January 2009 the retailer in charge,
Cencosud Cencosud S.A. is a publicly traded multinational retail company. It's the largest retail company in Chile and the third largest listed retail company in Latin America, competing with the Brazilian Companhia Brasileira de Distribuição and the Mex ...
, said in a statement that the construction of the mega-mall would gradually be reduced until financial uncertainty is cleared. In January 2010, Cencosud announced the restart of the project, and this was taken generally as a symbol of the country's success over the
global financial crisis Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...
. Close to Costanera Center another skyscraper is already in use,
Titanium La Portada Titanium La Portada is an office building in Santiago, Chile. Located in the capital's high-end financial district of El Golf, it is the second tallest skyscraper in the country. Construction began in January 2007, and was completed in January 201 ...
, 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. In February 2011,
Gran Torre Santiago The Costanera Center Torre 2, better known as Gran Torre Santiago (Great Santiago Tower), and previously known as Torre Gran Costanera, is a 62-story skyscraper in Santiago, Chile, the second tallest in Latin America (behind Mexico's T.Op Torre ...
, part of the
Costanera Center The Costanera Center is a business and commercial complex that includes a six-floor shopping mall, the Gran Torre Santiago and three other skyscrapers – two high-end hotels and an office building. The complex is located in the commune of Provid ...
project, located in the called Sanhattan district, reached the 300-meter mark, officially becoming the tallest structure in
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
.


Commerce

Santiago is Chile's retail capital.
Falabella The Falabella is an Argentine list of horse breeds, breed of small horse. It is among the smallest of horse breeds, with a height at the withers in the range .. History The ancestral stock of the horse of South America descended from horses bro ...
, Paris, Johnson, Ripley,
La Polar La Polar is the fourth largest retail company in Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a lo ...
, and several other department stores dot the mall landscape of Chile. The east side neighborhoods like
Vitacura Vitacura is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. It is one of the most expensive and fashionable areas of Santiago. Inhabitants are primarily high income families. It belongs to the Northeastern zone of ...
,
La Dehesa La Dehesa is a suburban neighborhood in Lo Barnechea Commune of Santiago, Chile. It borders Las Condes to the south and Vitacura to the west. It is located in a valley near the Andes, in the northeast of the city, north of the Mapocho River. ...
, and
Las Condes Las Condes is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. The area is inhabited primarily by upper-mid- to high income families, and known in the Chilean collective consciousness as home to the country's economi ...
are home to Santiago's Alonso de Cordova street, and malls like
Parque Arauco Parque Arauco is the third largest Chilean shopping malls company, after Cencosud's malls division and Mall Plaza the S.A.C.I. Falabella shopping malls subsidiary. It is headquartered in Santiago. The company manages shopping malls in Chile, Pe ...
,
Alto Las Condes The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...
, Mall Plaza (a chain of malls present in Chile and other Latin American countries) and
Costanera Center The Costanera Center is a business and commercial complex that includes a six-floor shopping mall, the Gran Torre Santiago and three other skyscrapers – two high-end hotels and an office building. The complex is located in the commune of Provid ...
are known for their luxurious shopping. Alonso de Cordova, Santiago's equivalent to Rodeo Drive or Rua Oscar Freire in São Paulo, has exclusive stores like
Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French high-end Luxury goods, luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton (designer), Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its produc ...
,
Hermès Hermès International S.A., or simply Hermès ( , ), is a French luxury design house established in 1837. It specializes in leather goods, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewelry, watches and ready-to-wear. Its logo, since ...
,
Emporio Armani Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (), commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and h ...
,
Salvatore Ferragamo Salvatore Ferragamo (5 June 1898 – 7 August 1960) was an Italian shoe designer and the founder of luxury goods high-end retailer Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A. An innovative shoe designer, Salvatore Ferragamo established a reputation in the 1930s. ...
,
Ermenegildo Zegna Ermenegildo Zegna (; born 30 September 1955), often simply known and referred to as Gildo Zegna, is an Italian entrepreneur and manager. He is Chairman and CEO of Ermenegildo Zegna Group. Early life and education Gildo is a grandson of Ermeneg ...
,
Swarovski Swarovski (, ) is an Austrian producer of glass based in Wattens, Austria, and has existed as a family-owned business since its founding in 1895 by Daniel Swarovski. The company is split into three major industry areas: the Swarovski Crystal ...
, MaxMara, Longchamp, and others. Alonso de Cordova also houses some of Santiago's most famous restaurants, art galleries, wine showrooms and furniture stores. The Costanera Center has stores like
Armani Exchange Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (), commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and ...
,
Banana Republic In political science, the term banana republic describes a politically unstable country with an economy dependent upon the export of natural resources. In 1904, the American author O. Henry coined the term to describe Honduras and neighboring ...
,
Façonnable Façonnable is a high-end men's and women's clothing brand founded in Nice, France by Jean Goldberg in 1950. It is currently owned by M1 Group holding company of Beirut, Lebanon. History The first shop, situated in rue Paradis in Nice, was o ...
,
Hugo Boss Hugo Boss AG, often styled as BOSS, is a luxury fashion house headquartered in Metzingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company sells clothing, accessories, footwear, and fragrances. Hugo Boss is one of the largest German clothing companies, ...
,
Swarovski Swarovski (, ) is an Austrian producer of glass based in Wattens, Austria, and has existed as a family-owned business since its founding in 1895 by Daniel Swarovski. The company is split into three major industry areas: the Swarovski Crystal ...
, and Zara. There are plans for a Saks Fifth Avenue in Santiago. Several mercados in the city such as the
Mercado Central de Santiago The Mercado Central de Santiago is the central market of Santiago de Chile. It was opened in 1872 and Fermín Vivaceta was in charge of its construction. The market replaced the Plaza del Abasto, which was destroyed by a fire in 1864. The mar ...
sell local goods.
Barrio Bellavista Barrio Bellavista (''Bellavista Neighborhood'') is an area that lies between the Mapocho River and San Cristóbal Hill in Santiago, Chile. It is known as Santiago's bohemian quarter, with numerous restaurants, boutiques, avant-garde galleries, b ...
and Barrio Lastarria have some of the most exclusive night clubs, chic cafés and restaurants.


Transport


Air

Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport Comodoro is a municipality in the state of Mato Grosso in the Central-West Region of Brazil. See also *List of municipalities in Mato Grosso This is a list of the municipalities in the state of Mato Grosso (MT), located in the Central-West R ...
(
IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff ...
: SCL) is Santiago's national and international airport and the principal hub of
LATAM Airlines LATAM Airlines Group S.A. is an airline holding company headquartered in Santiago, Chile. It is considered the largest airline company in Latin America with subsidiaries in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru. The company filed for Ch ...
,
Sky Airline Sky Airline, styled as SꓘY, is an airline based at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport in Santiago, Chile. It is the second largest airline in the country behind flag-carrier LATAM Airlines and the first airline to operate un ...
,
Aerocardal Aerocardal is an airline based in Santiago, Chile. It operates international and domestic passenger charter services, as well as medical services. Its main base is Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, Santiago. History Aeroc ...
and
JetSmart JetSmart Airlines SpA, stylized as JetSMART, is a South American ultra low-cost carrier created by US investment fund (and co-founder of LBM Fermin Ithuralde) Indigo Partners, which also controls low-cost carriers like US airline Frontier Airli ...
. The airport is located in the western commune of
Pudahuel Pudahuel (, Mapudungun "place of pools/water" or "place where seagulls gather") is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. Santiago's international airport Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez is located there. ...
. The largest airport in Chile, it is ranked sixth in passenger traffic among Latin American airports, with 14,168,282 passengers served in 2012 – a 17% increase over 2011. It is located 15 km from the city center. Peldehue airport in Colina began operations on December 13, 2021. It will be able to service up to 25 flights per hour. Santiago is also served by
Eulogio Sánchez Airport Eulogio Sánchez Airport ( es, Aeródromo Eulogio Sánchez) , also known as Tobalaba Airport, is an airport in La Reina, an eastern suburb of Santiago, Chile. It is two-thirds owned by the ''Club Aéreo de Santiago'' and one-third owned by the ''C ...
(ICAO: SCTB), a small, privately owned general aviation airport in the commune of
La Reina La Reina ( Spanish: "The Queen") is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region created in 1963 from an eastern portion of the Ñuñoa commune. It belongs to the Northeastern zone of Santiago de Chile. La Re ...
.


Rail

Trains operated by Chile's national railway company,
Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado (abbreviated EFE, lit. ''State Railway Company'') is the national railway and the oldest state-run enterprise in Chile. It manages the infrastructure and operating rail services in the country. Track gauge ...
(EFE), connect Santiago to several cities in the south-central part of the country:
Rancagua Rancagua () is a city and commune in central Chile and part of the Rancagua conurbation. It is the capital of the Cachapoal Province and of the O'Higgins Region, located south of the national capital of Santiago. It was originally named Sant ...
,
San Fernando San Fernando may refer to: People *Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia Places Argentina *San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...
,
Talca Talca () is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune in Chile located about south of Santiago, Chile, Santiago, and is the capital of both Talca Province and Maule Region (7th Region of Chile). As of the 2012 census, the ...
(connected to the coastal city of Constitución by a different train service), Linares and
Chillán Chillán () is the capital city of the Ñuble Region in the Diguillín Province of Chile located about south of the country's capital, Santiago, near the geographical center of the country. It is the capital of the new Ñuble Region since 6 Sept ...
. All such trains arrive and depart from the
Estación Central railway station Alameda (unofficially Estación Central) is a major railway station in Santiago, Chile, serving the south of the country, and is the city's primary and railway station, and is the only major railway station in Santiago after the closure of Mapo ...
(Central Station), which can be accessed by bus or subway. The proposed
Santiago–Valparaíso railway line The Santiago–Valparaíso railway is a railway line linking the Chilean capital city Santiago with the port city of Valparaíso. History The existing rail line between Santiago and Valparaíso was opened in 1863, and is long, single-track and ...
would connect Santiago with
Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...
in 45 minutes, and expansions of the commuter rail network to
Melipilla Melipilla (Mapudungun for "four Pillans") is a Chilean commune and capital city of the province of the same name, located in the Santiago Metropolitan Region southwest of the nation's capital. The commune spans an area of . Demographics Accord ...
and Batuco are under discussion.


Inter-urban buses

Bus companies provide passenger transportation from Santiago to most areas of the country as well as to foreign destinations, while some also provide parcel shipping and delivery services. There are several bus terminals in Santiago: * Terminal San Borja: located in Metro station "
Estación Central Estación Central ((), Spanish for "central station") is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. Its namesake is the Estación Central railway station located in the commune. Demographics According to th ...
." Provides buses to all destinations in Chile and to some towns around Santiago. * Terminal Alameda: located in Metro station "Universidad de Santiago." Provides buses to all destinations in Chile. * Terminal Santiago: located one block west of Terminal Alameda. Provides buses to all destinations in Chile as well as to destinations in most countries in South America, except Bolivia. * Terrapuerto Los Héroes: located two blocks east of Metro station "Los Héroes." Provides buses to south of Chile and some northern cities, as well as Argentina (Mendoza and Buenos Aires) and Paraguay (Asunción). * Terminal Pajaritos: located in Metro station "Pajaritos." Provides buses to the
international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...
, inter-regional services to
Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...
,
Viña del Mar Viña del Mar (; meaning "Vineyard of the Sea") is a city and commune on central Chile's Pacific coast. Often referred to as ("The Garden City"), Viña del Mar is located within the Valparaíso Region, and it is Chile's fourth largest city w ...
and several other coastal cities and towns. * Terminal La Cisterna: located in Metro station "La Cisterna." Provides buses to towns around southern Santiago, Viña del Mar, Temuco and Puerto Montt. * Terminal La Paz: located about two blocks away from the fresh fruit and vegetables market "Vega Central;" the closest Metro station is "Puente Cal y Canto." It connects the rural areas north of Santiago.


Highways

A network of
free flow Open road tolling (ORT), also called all-electronic tolling, cashless tolling, or free-flow tolling, is the collection of tolls on toll roads without the use of toll booths. An electronic toll collection system is usually used instead. The m ...
toll highway A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or '' toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemente ...
s connects the various areas of the city. They include the Vespucio Norte and Vespucio Sur highways, which surround the city completing a nearly full circle;
Autopista Central Autopista Central ("Central Highway", in Spanish) is a privatized, partially submerged highway in Chile forming part of the Ruta 5. It forms part of the urban highway network of Santiago, all of which incorporate a free flow toll system. Out of t ...
, the section of the Pan American highway crossing the city from north to south, divided in two highways apart; and the
Costanera Norte Costanera Norte ( es, Northern bank road) is a 43 km privatized expressway ('' autopista urbana'') in Chile, connecting northern Santiago from east to west, along the northern bank of the Mapocho River, using an electronic toll collection ...
, running next to the Mapocho River and connecting the international airport with the downtown and with the wealthier areas of the city to the east, where it divides into two highways. Other non-free flow toll roads connecting Santiago to other cities, include: Rutas del Pacífico ( Ruta 68), the continuation of the ''Alameda'' Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Avenue to the west, provides direct access to Valparaíso and Viña del Mar; Autopista del Sol (Ruta 78), connects
Melipilla Melipilla (Mapudungun for "four Pillans") is a Chilean commune and capital city of the province of the same name, located in the Santiago Metropolitan Region southwest of the nation's capital. The commune spans an area of . Demographics Accord ...
and the port of
San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...
with the capital; Autopista Ruta del Maipo (a.k.a. "Acceso Sur") is an alternative to the Pan American highway to access the various localities south of Santiago; Autopista Los Libertadores provides access to the main border crossing to Argentina, via Colina and Los Andes; and Autopista Nororiente, which provides access to the suburban development known as Chicureo, north of the capital.


Public transport

Santiago has 37% of Chile's vehicles, with a total of 991,838 vehicles, 979,346 of which are motorized. An extensive network of streets and avenues stretching across Santiago facilitate travel between the different communities that make up the metropolitan area. In the 1990s the government attempted to reorganize the public transport system. New routes were introduced in 1994 and the buses were painted yellow. The system, however, had serious issues with routes overlapping, high levels of air and noise pollution, and safety problems for both riders and drivers. To tackle these issues a new transport system, called
Transantiago Red Metropolitana de Movilidad (English: ''Metropolitan Mobility Network''; named Transantiago until March 2019) is a public transport system that serves Santiago, the capital of Chile. It is considered the most ambitious transport reform undertak ...
, was devised. The system was launched in earnest on 10 February 2007, combining core services across the city with the subway and with local feeder routes, under a unified system of payment through a
contactless smartcard A contactless smart card is a contactless credential whose dimensions are credit card, credit-card size. Its embedded integrated circuits can store (and sometimes process) data and communicate with a terminal via Near-field communication, NFC. C ...
called "Tarjeta bip!" The change was not well received by users, who complained of lack of buses, too many bus-to-bus transfers, and diminished coverage. Some of these problems were resolved, but the system earned a bad reputation which it has not been able to shake off. , the fare evasion rate is stubbornly high. In 2019, the government introduced the new public transport system named
RED Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
. In recent years many cycle paths have been constructed, but so far the number is limited and with little connections between the routes. Most cyclists ride on the street, and the use of helmets and lights is not widespread, even though it is mandatory.


Metro

Santiago Metro The Santiago Metro ( es, Metro de Santiago) is a rapid transit system serving the city of Santiago, the capital of Chile. It currently consists of seven lines (numbered 1-6 and 4A), 136 stations, and of revenue route. The system is managed by th ...
has six operating lines (1, 2, 3, 4, 4A, 5 and 6), extending over and connecting 118 stations. The system carries around 2,400,000 passengers per day. Two underground lines (Line 4 and 4A) and an extension of Line 2 were inaugurated in 2005 and 2006, while an extension of Line 5 was inaugurated in 2011. Line 6 was inaugurated in 2017, adding 10 stations to the network and approximately of track. Line 3 opened on January 22, 2019, with 18 new stations


Commuter rail

EFE provides suburban rail service under the brandname of Metrotren. There are 2 southbound routes. The most popular is the Metrotren Nos service, between the Central Station of Santiago and Nos station, in San Bernardo. This line, inaugurated in 2017, serves 8 million people per year, with 12 trains serving 10 stations with a frequency of 6 minutes during rush hours, and 12 during the rest of the time. The other route is the Metrotren Rancagua service, between the Central Station of Santiago and the Rancagua station, connecting Santiago with the regional capital of O'Higgins.


Bus

Transantiago Red Metropolitana de Movilidad (English: ''Metropolitan Mobility Network''; named Transantiago until March 2019) is a public transport system that serves Santiago, the capital of Chile. It is considered the most ambitious transport reform undertak ...
is the name for the city's public transport system. It works by combining local (feeder) bus lines and main bus lines, as well for the EFE commuter trains and the Metro network. It includes an integrated fare system, which allows passengers to make bus-to-bus, bus-to-metro or bus-to-train transfers for the price of one ticket, using a contactless smartcard (bip!). This system also offers reduced fares for the elderly, as well as high school and university students.


Vehicles for hire

Taxicabs are common in Santiago and are painted black with yellow roofs and have orange license plates. So-called ''radiotaxis'' may be called up by telephone and can be any make, model, or color but should always have the orange plates. ''Colectivos'' are shared taxicabs that carry passengers along a specific route for a fixed fee.
Cabify Cabify is a Spanish ridesharing company which provides vehicles for hire via its smartphone mobile app. Vehicles are driven by self-employed service providers. Operating in Spain and Latin America (Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Panama, Ecuador ...
,
Uber Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber), based in San Francisco, provides mobility as a service, ride-hailing (allowing users to book a car and driver to transport them in a way similar to a taxi), food delivery (Uber Eats and Postmates), package ...
and
DiDi Didi may refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Didi" (song), a song by Khaled * Didi, the principal character in '' Didi's Comedy Show'', a German comedy television show * Didi Pickles, mother of Tommy and Dil in the cartoons ''Rugrats'' and ''Al ...
also operate in Santiago.


Public transportation statistics

The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Santiago - to and from work, for example - on a weekday is 84 min. 23% of public transit riders ride for more than 2 hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 15 min, while 21% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is 7.4 km, while 15% travel for over 12 km in a single direction.


Internal transport

As of 2006, Santiago was home to 992,000 vehicles, 979,000 of which were motorized. This made up 37.3% of Chile's total vehicle count. 805,000 cars passed through the city, which is 37.6% of the national total or one car for every seven people. The main road is the
Avenida Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Avenida Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins ( en, General Liberator Bernardo O'Higgins Avenue), popularly known as La Alameda (meaning, a street bordered by poplar trees), is the main avenue of Santiago, Chile. It runs east-west in the center ...
, better known as Alameda Avenue, which runs northeast and southwest. From north to south, it is crossed by
Autopista Central Autopista Central ("Central Highway", in Spanish) is a privatized, partially submerged highway in Chile forming part of the Ruta 5. It forms part of the urban highway network of Santiago, all of which incorporate a free flow toll system. Out of t ...
and the Independencia, Gran Avenida, Recoleta,
Santa Rosa Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish name for Saint Rose. Santa Rosa may also refer to: Places Argentina *Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city * Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, La Pampa * S ...
, Vicuña Mackenna and Tobalaba avenues. Other major roads include the Avenida Los Pajaritos to the west and
Providencia Avenue Avenida Providencia is a major thoroughfare in Santiago, Chile. It runs along the commune of Providencia. Description Providencia begins at the northern terminus of Vicuña Mackenna Avenue as a continuation of Alameda Avenue. Immediately, the op ...
and
Apoquindo Avenue Apoquindo Avenue is a major thoroughfare in Santiago, Chile. It extends through the commune of Las Condes. Description Apoquindo Avenue originates immediately east of Tobalaba Avenue. The main stretch of this street runs eastward from the eastern ...
to the east. Finally, the
Américo Vespucio Avenue Américo Vespucio Avenue is a ring road in Santiago, Chile named after Renaissance cartographer Amerigo Vespucci. Two adjacent sections of the avenue are occupied by Vespucio Norte Express and Vespucio Sur free-flow tolling highways, which are ...
acts as a
ring road A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...
. During the 2000s, several urban highways were built through Santiago in order to improve the situation for vehicles. The road General Velásquez and sections of the
Pan-American Highway The Pan-American Highway (french: (Auto)route panaméricaine/transaméricaine; pt, Rodovia/Auto-estrada Pan-americana; es, Autopista/Carretera/Ruta Panamericana) is a network of roads stretching across the Americas and measuring about in to ...
in Santiago were converted into the Autopista Central, while Américo Vespucio became variously the highways Vespucio Norte Express and Vespucio Sur, as well as Vespucio Oriente in the future. Following the edge of the Mapocho River, Costanera Norte was built to link the northeast of the capital to the airport and the downtown area. All these highways, totaling 210 km in length, have a free flow toll system.


Administrative divisions

Greater Santiago lacks a metropolitan government for its administration, which is distributed between authorities, complicating the operation of the city as a single entity. The highest authorities in Santiago are considered to be the governor of the
Santiago Metropolitan Region Santiago Metropolitan Region ( es, link=no, Región Metropolitana de Santiago) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions. It is the country's only landlocked administrative region and contains the nation's capital, Santiago. Mos ...
, who is popularly elected to the office, now held by
Claudio Orrego Claudio Benjamín Orrego Larraín (born 20 December 1966) is a Chilean people, Chilean lawyer, Christian Democrat Party of Chile, Christian Democrat politician, and, since 14 July 2021, the governor of the Santiago Metropolitan Region. Orrego is ...
, and the regional presidential delegate of Santiago Metropolitan Region, an official appointed by the president of Chile, post currently occupied by
Constanza Martínez Constanza as a place may refer to: * Constanza, Dominican Republic * Constanța, Romania Constanza may also refer to: * ''R v Constanza'' (The Crown against Gaetano Constanza), an English legal case in 1997 * José Constanza (born 1983), Dominica ...
. The conurbation of Greater Santiago does not fit perfectly into any administrative division, as it extends into four different
provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
and 35
communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...
plus 11 satellite communes which together make the Santiago Metropolitan Area. The majority of its (as of 2002) lie within Santiago Province, with some peripheral areas contained in the provinces of
Cordillera A cordillera is an extensive chain and/or network system of mountain ranges, such as those in the west coast of the Americas. The term is borrowed from Spanish, where the word comes from , a diminutive of ('rope'). The term is most commonly us ...
, Maipo, and
Talagante Talagante () is a commune and the capital city of the province of the same name in the Santiago Metropolitan Region of central Chile. The word ''Talagante'' in Quechua comes from ''talacanta'', meaning "Lazo de Hechicero", which was the proper n ...
. Although there is no official consensus in this regard, the communes of the city are usually grouped into seven sectors:
north North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...
,
center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...
,
northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
,
southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
,
south South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
,
southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
and
southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
.
Note: Communes in the peripheries are not shown to their full extent.


Culture

Only a few historical buildings from the Spanish colonial period remain in the city, because – like the rest of the country – Santiago is regularly hit by earthquakes. Extant buildings include the
Casa Colorada Casa Colorada (English: ''Red House'') is a colonial house built located in Santiago, Chile. It was built in 1769, by Joseph de la Vega for Mateo de Toro y Zambrano, and currently houses the Museo de Santiago (English: ''Museum of Santiago''). Th ...
(1769), the San Francisco Church (1586), and
Posada del Corregidor The Posada del Corregidor is a building located at the corner of Corregidor Zañartu and Esmeralda streets, in downtown Santiago, Chile. It was declared as a National Historic Monument in 1970. History The house was built in the Mid-18th Centur ...
(1750). The cathedral on the central square (
Plaza de Armas The ''Plaza de Armas'' (literally Weapons Square, but better translated as Parade Square or parade ground) is the name for Latin American main squares. In the central region of Mexico this space is known as El Zócalo and in Central America as ...
) is a sight that ranks as high as the Palacio de La Moneda, the Presidential Palace. The original building was built between 1784 and 1805, and architect Joaquín Toesca was in charge of its construction. Other buildings surrounding the Plaza de Armas are the Central Post Office Building, which was finished in 1882, and the
Palacio de la Real Audiencia de Santiago The Palacio de la Real Audiencia de Santiago (English: ''Royal Court Palace or Palace of the Boxes'') is a building located in the north central village of the Plaza de Armas in Santiago, Chile. The building dates back to 1808 and houses, since 198 ...
, built between 1804 and 1807. It houses the Chilean National History Museum, with 12,000 objects that can be exhibited. On the southeast corner of the square stands the green cast-iron Commercial Edwards building, which was built in 1893. East of that is the colonial building of the
Casa Colorada Casa Colorada (English: ''Red House'') is a colonial house built located in Santiago, Chile. It was built in 1769, by Joseph de la Vega for Mateo de Toro y Zambrano, and currently houses the Museo de Santiago (English: ''Museum of Santiago''). Th ...
(1769), which houses the Museum of Santiago. Close by is the
Municipal Theatre of Santiago The Teatro Municipal, National Opera of Chile is the most important stage theatre and opera house in Santiago, Chile. History and overview The Chilean government ceded a significant parcel of land in downtown Santiago to the municipality, in 184 ...
, which was built in 1857 by the French architect Brunet of Edward Baines. It was badly damaged by an earthquake in 1906. Not far from the theater is the Subercaseaux Mansion and the
National Library A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public library, public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, o ...
, one of the largest libraries of South America. The
Former National Congress Building The Former National Congress Building (''ex Congreso Nacional'') is the former home of the Chilean Congress. Congress met in this building in central Santiago until Salvador Allende's socialist government was overthrown by Augusto Pinochet's milit ...
, the Justice Palace, and the Royal Customs Palace (''Palacio de la Real Aduana de Santiago'') are located close to each other. The latter houses the Museum of pre-Columbian art. A fire destroyed the building of the Congress in 1895, which was then rebuilt in a neoclassical style and reopened in 1901. The Congress was deposed under the military dictatorship (1973–89) of
Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...
, and after the dictatorship was newly constituted on 11 March 1990, in Valparaíso. The building of the Justice Palace (Palacio de Tribunales) is located on the south side of the Montt Square. It was designed by the architect Emilio Doyére and built between 1907 and 1926. The building is home to the Supreme Court of Chile. The panel of 21 judges is the highest judicial power in Chile. The building is also the headquarters of the Court of Appeals of Santiago. Bandera street leads toward the building of the
Santiago Stock Exchange The Santiago Stock Exchange (SSE) ( es, Bolsa de Comercio de Santiago), founded on November 27, 1893, is Chile's dominant stock exchange, and the third largest stock exchange in Latin America, behind Brazil's BM&F Bovespa, and the Bolsa Mexicana ...
(the ''Bolsa de Comercio''), completed in 1917, the Club de la Unión (opened in 1925), the Universidad de Chile (1872), and toward the oldest churchhouse in the city, the San Francisco Church (constructed between 1586 and 1628), with its Marian statue of the ''Virgen del Socorro'' ("Our Lady of Help"), which was brought to Chile by Pedro de Valdivia. North of the ''Plaza de Armas'' ("Square of Arms," where the colonial militia was mustered) are the
Paseo Puente Paseo may refer to: * a ''paseo'', a promenade, esplanade or public avenue. * ''Paseo'', a euphemism for a ride to summary execution during the White Terror during the Spanish Civil War Parkways and malls * The Paseo (Kansas City, Missouri), a ...
, the
Santo Domingo Church Santo Domingo Church, formally known as the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary (Spanish: ''Santuario Nacional de Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario''; Filipino: ''Pambansang Dambana ng Mahal na Birhen ng Santo Rosaryo''), is ...
(1771), and the
Central Market Central Market may refer to: *Central Market, a 2009 album by Tyondai Braxton Fresh food markets * Adelaide Central Market, Australia * Cardiff Central Market, Wales *Central Market, Hong Kong * Central Market, Casablanca, Morocco * Riga Central ...
(Mercado Central), an ornamental iron building. Also in downtown Santiago is the
Torre Entel Torre Entel (Entel Tower) is the name of a high TV and telecommunications tower in Santiago, Chile. Torre Entel has an observation deck open for visitors. Construction began in 1970 during Eduardo Frei Montalva term as president and it was ina ...
, a 127.4-meter-high television tower with observation deck completed in 1974; the tower serves as a communication center for the communications company, ENTEL Chile. The Costanera Center was completed in 2009, and includes housing, shopping, and entertainment venues. The project, with a total area of 600,000 square meters, includes the 300-meter high
Gran Torre Santiago The Costanera Center Torre 2, better known as Gran Torre Santiago (Great Santiago Tower), and previously known as Torre Gran Costanera, is a 62-story skyscraper in Santiago, Chile, the second tallest in Latin America (behind Mexico's T.Op Torre ...
(South America's tallest building) and other commercial buildings. The four office towers are served by highway and subway connections. File:Teatro Municipal de Santiago de Chile.JPG, Municipal Theatre of Santiago File:Palacio de La Moneda.png,
Palacio de La Moneda Palacio de La Moneda (, ''Palace of the Mint''), or simply La Moneda, is the seat of the President of the Republic of Chile. It also houses the offices of three cabinet ministers: Interior, General Secretariat of the Presidency and General Secret ...
File:Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Santiago2.jpg, Contemporary Art Museum of Santiago File:Bellasartes.jpg, Fine Arts Museum File:BibliotecaNacionaldeChile.JPG, Biblioteca Nacional de Chile File:Excongreso.jpg, Former Congress Building


Heritage and monuments

Within the metropolitan area of Santiago, there are 174
heritage sites A national heritage site is a heritage site having a value that has been registered by a governmental agency as being of national importance to the cultural heritage or history of that country. Usually such sites are listed in a heritage regist ...
in the custody of the National Monuments Council, among which are archeological, architectural and historical monuments, neighborhoods and typical areas. Of these, 93 are located within the
commune of Santiago A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...
, considered the historic center of the city. Although no santiaguino monument has been declared a
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
by
Unesco The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
three have already been proposed by the Chilean government: the Incan sanctuary of El Plomo, the church and convent of San Francisco and the
palace of La Moneda Palacio de La Moneda (, ''Palace of the Mint''), or simply La Moneda, is the seat of the President of the Republic of Chile. It also houses the offices of three cabinet ministers: Interior, General Secretariat of the Presidency and General Secre ...
. In the center of Santiago are several buildings built during the Spanish domination and that mostly correspond to, as the Metropolitan Cathedral and the aforementioned church of San Francisco Catholic churches. Buildings of the period are those located on the sides of
Plaza de Armas The ''Plaza de Armas'' (literally Weapons Square, but better translated as Parade Square or parade ground) is the name for Latin American main squares. In the central region of Mexico this space is known as El Zócalo and in Central America as ...
, as the seat of
Real Audiencia A ''Real Audiencia'' (), or simply an ''Audiencia'' ( ca, Reial Audiència, Audiència Reial, or Audiència), was an appellate court in Spain and its empire. The name of the institution literally translates as Royal Audience. The additional des ...
, the
Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...
or the
Casa Colorada Casa Colorada (English: ''Red House'') is a colonial house built located in Santiago, Chile. It was built in 1769, by Joseph de la Vega for Mateo de Toro y Zambrano, and currently houses the Museo de Santiago (English: ''Museum of Santiago''). Th ...
. During the nineteenth century and the advent of independence, new architectural works began to be erected in the capital of the young republic. The aristocracy built small palaces for residential use, mainly around the neighborhood Republica and preserved until today. To this other structures adopted artistic trends from Europe, as the Equestrian Club of Santiago, the head offices of the
University of Chile The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.
and the
Catholic University Catholic higher education includes universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher education privately run by the Catholic Church, typically by religious institutes. Those tied to the Holy See are specifically called pontifical univ ...
,
Central Station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...
and the Mapocho Station, Mercado Central, join the
National Library A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public library, public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, o ...
, Museum of Fine Arts and the Barrio París-Londres, among others. Various green areas in the city contain within and around various sites of heritage character. Among the most important are the fortifications of Santa Lucia hill, the shrine of the Virgin Mary on the summit of San Cristobal hill, the lavish crypt of the General Cemetery,
Parque Forestal Parque Forestal is an urban park in the city of Santiago, Chile. The park was created on reclaimed land from the Mapocho River and is located in the historical downtown of Santiago, west of Plaza Baquedano and east of Estación Mapocho. It is borde ...
, the
O'Higgins Park O'Higgins Park (, formerly known as Parque Cousiño), with an area of around , is Santiago, Chile's second largest public park after Metropolitan Park. It is located in the center of the capital, in the Santiago Commune. The park, named after B ...
and the
Quinta Normal Park Quinta Normal Park is an urban park in the city of Santiago, Chile. The park is in a commune, or district of the same name, Quinta Normal. The park is bounded by Matucana Avenue to the east, Portales Avenue to the south and Santo Domingo Street to ...
.


Cultural activities and entertainment

In Santiago's major
theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...
companies are located, hosting several national and international projects, with the highest expression during the International Theatre Festival known as
Santiago a Mil Santiago a Mil International Theatre Festival (Spanish: ''Festival Internacional Santiago a Mil'') is an annual performing arts festival that takes place in January in Santiago, Chile. It is the largest arts festival in Chile and includes theatre, ...
, which takes place every January since 1994 and has gathered more than one million spectators. Also is the Planetarium at the
University of Santiago de Chile The University of Santiago, Chile (Usach) ( es, Universidad de Santiago de Chile) is one of the oldest public universities in Chile. The institution was born as ''Escuela de Artes y Oficios'' (Spanish: ''School of Arts and Crafts'') in 1849 by I ...
. To carry out various cultural, artistic and musical events, there are several precincts within which highlight the Mapocho Cultural Center, 100 Matucana Cultural Center, the
Gabriela Mistral Cultural Center The Centro Cultural Gabriela Mistral (GAM) (formerly known as the Diego Portales Building) is a cultural center located on 227 Av. Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins, in Santiago de Chile. The complex was originally built to serve as the headquarters fo ...
,
Centro Cultural Palacio de La Moneda Centro Cultural Palacio de La Moneda ("Palacio de La Moneda Cultural Center") is a cultural facility located in Santiago, Chile, under the Citizenry Square, in the southern façade of the Palacio de La Moneda. It is intended to place the Chile ...
, the
Movistar Arena Movistar Arena is a 17,000-seat multi-purpose indoor arena in Santiago, Chile. It is located inside O'Higgins Park, in downtown Santiago. Its main structure was built in 1956, but it remained unfinished and without roof, the roof was installed in ...
and the Caupolican Theater. On the other hand, the
opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
and
ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
performances are permanently accepted by the
Municipal Theatre of Santiago The Teatro Municipal, National Opera of Chile is the most important stage theatre and opera house in Santiago, Chile. History and overview The Chilean government ceded a significant parcel of land in downtown Santiago to the municipality, in 184 ...
, located in the heart of the city and which has a capacity of 1500 spectators. There are 18 cinemas in the capital with a total of 144 rooms and over 32,000 seats, the projection centers than 5 arthouse add. For children and teenagers, there are several entertainment venues, such as
amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
Fantasilandia Fantasilandia is a Chilean amusement park. The park opened in 1978 and is located in a corner of the O'Higgins Park in Santiago, Chile. On January 28, 1978 the park opened for first time with only 8 attractions, including the "Galaxy" coaster, " ...
, the National Zoo or the
Buin Zoo Buin may refer to: * Buin, Chile * Buin, Iran (disambiguation) * Buin, Papua New Guinea on Bougainville Island * Buin Rural LLG on Bougainville Island {{geodis