Santiago Metropolitan Region in the context of "O'Higgins Region"

Santiago (/ˌsæntiˈɑːɡoʊ/ SAN-tee-AH-goh, US also /ˌsɑːn-/ SAHN-, Spanish: [sanˈtjaɣo]), also known as Santiago de Chile (Spanish: [sanˈtjaɣo ðe ˈtʃile] ), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. Most of the city is situated between 500–650 m (1,640–2,133 ft) above sea level. Located in the Chilean Central Valley within the Santiago Basin, between the Andes to the east and the Chilean Coastal Range to the west, it anchors the Santiago Metropolitan Region and its conurbation of Greater Santiago, which comprises more than forty communes and concentrates over a third of the national population and around 45% of Chile’s GDP. Most of the city lies between 500 and 650 m (1,640–2,133 ft) above sea level, with recent urban growth extending into the Andean foothills.

The basin that Santiago occupies has been inhabited since at least the 10th millennium BC, with early agricultural villages established along the Mapocho River and later incorporated into the Inca sphere of influence. During the Spanish invasion of the Americas, conquistador Pedro de Valdivia founded the colonial city of Santiago del Nuevo Extremo on 12 February 1541, laying out a grid plan around the Plaza Mayor (now Plaza de Armas). Despite early food shortages, Indigenous attacks, floods, and devastating earthquakes—notably in 1647—the city consolidated as the capital of the Captaincy General of Chile. Santiago remained the political center during the Chilean War of Independence, beginning with the First Government Junta in 1810 and culminating in patriot victory at the Battle of Maipú in 1818, and subsequently expanded through 19th-century railway construction, state-building projects, and the creation of major educational and cultural institutions.

Santiago (/ˌsæntiˈɑːɡoʊ/ SAN-tee-AH-goh, US also /ˌsɑːn-/ SAHN-, Spanish: [sanˈtjaɣo]), also known as Santiago de Chile (Spanish: [sanˈtjaɣo ðe ˈtʃile] ), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. Located in the Chilean Central Valley within the Santiago Basin, between the Andes to the east and the Chilean Coastal Range to the west, it anchors the Santiago Metropolitan Region and its conurbation of Greater Santiago, which comprises more than forty communes and concentrates over a third of the national population and around 45% of Chile’s GDP. Most of the city lies between 500 and 650 m (1,640–2,133 ft) above sea level, with recent urban growth extending into the Andean foothills.

The basin that Santiago occupies has been inhabited since at least the 10th millennium BC, with early agricultural villages established along the Mapocho River and later incorporated into the Inca sphere of influence. During the Spanish invasion of the Americas, conquistador Pedro de Valdivia founded the colonial city of Santiago del Nuevo Extremo on 12 February 1541, laying out a grid plan around the Plaza Mayor (now Plaza de Armas). Despite early food shortages, Indigenous attacks, floods, and devastating earthquakes—notably in 1647—the city consolidated as the capital of the Captaincy General of Chile. Santiago remained the political center during the Chilean War of Independence, beginning with the First Government Junta in 1810 and culminating in patriot victory at the Battle of Maipú in 1818, and subsequently expanded through 19th-century railway construction, state-building projects, and the creation of major educational and cultural institutions.

The Maipo River is the main river flowing through the Santiago Metropolitan Region and the Valparaíso Region of Chile. It is located just south of the capital of Santiago. The Mapocho River, which flows through central Santiago, is one of its tributaries. Its headwaters are on the west slope of Maipo volcano, in the Andes. The Maipo River is by far the major source of irrigation and potable water for the region.

The river's mouth bar have moved to disconnect the river from the sea several times in history, for example, after the 2010 Chile earthquake and then again since January 19, 2023. This last change in bar morphology was a consequence of a storm surge. By January 28 a ditch had been made to reconnect the river to the sea. Governor of Valpraíso Region Rodrigo Mundaca criticized however the fact that works were carried out without permission.

32°S 70°W / 32°S 70°W / -32; -70

Principal Cordillera (Spanish: Cordillera Principal) is the Andean mountain range that makes up the boundary between Central Chile and neighbouring areas of Argentina. It is also a continental divide between the Atlantic and the Pacific watersheds. It extends in a north–south direction in the Argentine provinces of La Rioja, San Juan and Mendoza and the Chilean regions of Valparaíso, Santiago, O'Higgins and Maule. To the east of the Principal Cordillera lies the Frontal Cordillera which is fully in Argentina. Aconcagua, the tallest mountain outside Asia, lies in the Principal Cordillera.

The 2023 Pan American Games (Spanish: Juegos Panamericanos de 2023), officially the XIX Pan American Games (Spanish: XIX Juegos Panamericanos) and commonly known as Santiago 2023, were an international multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization, held in Santiago, Chile from 20 October to 5 November 2023; preliminary rounds in certain events began on 18 October 2023. These are the first Pan American Games to be held in Chile, and the eighth to be held in South America.

The games were held in 39 venues across the Santiago Metropolitan Region and another three regions of Chile. The Pan American Games and the 2023 Parapan American Games were organized by the Santiago Organizing Committee for the 2023 Pan and Parapan American Games.

Pudahuel (Spanish pronunciation: [puðaˈwel], Mapudungun "place of pools/water" or "place where seagulls gather") is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. Santiago's Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport is located in Pudahuel.