SANTIAGO, the capital of the republic of Chili, South America, is situated on the Mapocho, a feeder of the Maypfi, in the plain of Santiago (Cirmil, at an elevation of 1690 feet above the level of the sea, in 33 25' S. lat., 70° 38' W. long., population about 50,000. The plain of Santiago, in which the city stands, from its great elevation above the level of the sea, is unfit for agricultural purposes, except where it is irrigated along the banks of some small rivers, and by a canal which brings water from the river Maypfi to the vicinity of the town, and fertilises a tract more than twenty miles in length, and several miles in width.
Santiago is one of the finest cities in America in respect to buildings, convenience, and healthiness. It stands on every gentle slope towards the west ; and it is regularly laid out, being divided, like otherSpanish towns, into rectangular and equal squares, called quadrats The prin cipal streets are about forty-five feet wide ; the houses are usually only one story high, on account of the earthquakes; but they are very large, and contain many rooms, arranged round three quadrangular squares, called patios. The Plaza, or great square, stands nearly in the middle of the city ; it occupies the apace of a whole quadra. It has a hand some bronze fountain in the centre, surrounded by a basin of hewn stone, from which the Inhabitants are supplied with water by water carriers. The buildings on the north-west side are—the government palace, the prison, and the chamber of justice ; on the south-west side stand the cathedral, the only stone building in the city, and the palace of the bishop, an extensive building in the Moorish style • on the south-east aide are a number of little shops; and on the north-east there are private residences. There is also a university. The only other important publio building is the Casa de Moneda, or Mint, which is very large, but has ceased for several years to be used as a mint. There are several handsome churches and convents in Santiago, especially those of San Domingo, San Francisco, and San Augustin.
At the eastern extremity of the town is a small rocky eminence, on which the fort of Santa Lucia is built, which is much visited by foreigners on account of the beautiful view which it affords of the Andes. Adjacent to the hill on the north is the Tsjamar, or break
water, raised to protect the city from the overflow of the Mapocho during the melting of the snow on the mountains. At the western extremity of tho Tajamar is a handsome bridge over the Mapocho of eight arches, which leads to the soberb of Chimba. Along the south western side of the city is the Canada, which serves as the public walk, and is a large open place planted with four magnificent rows of poplar?, which are watered by small canals constantly full of clear running water. The Carted* separates the city from the large suburb called La Cafiadilla. At the western extremity of the city is the email suburb of Chuchunco.
Coarse ponchos and saddlery are made to some extent in Santiago, and sent to the other parte of Chili. Santiago exports the produce of its mines, and jerked beef, hides, and fruits to Valparaiso, from which place it receives the manufactures of Europe, China, and the East Indies, with sugar, cacao, and some other colonial productions from Peru and Central America. The road from Santiago to Valparaiso, a distance of 90 miles, is the best artificial rood in South America ; end practicable for carriages, though it crosses three ranges of steep bills. Santiago has some commercial intercourse with Mendoza, on the eastern side of the Andes, with which it is connected by two roads, the northern of which traverses the Andes by the mountain pass of Uspallata, which at Its highest elevation, called the Cumbre, attains 12,454 feet above the sea-level, and may be passed on mules /rpm the beginning of November to the end of May; while the southern road leads over the mountain pass of Fortino, south of Mount Tupungato, which attains an elevation of 14,365 feet above the sea-level, and is seldom open longer than from the beginning of January to the end of April. By these roads Santiago receives mules, hides, soap, tallow, dried fruits, and wine from Mendoza.