I read that Columbia is the only country in South American with a coast on both oceans the Atlantic and the Pacific, but it seems to me that Chile also has a tiny border on the Atlantic.
Is this so?
It looks like the only have land on the Straits of Magellan, which I don’t think counts as either ocean.
I think Chile’s border ends at the mouth of the large bay on the east end of the Strait of Magellan, and doesn’t actually touch the Atlantic coast proper.
I dunno, after checking it out on Google Earth, I’d be hard pressed to say that Isla Nueva (Chile’s easternmost bit of land) doesn’t abut the Atlantic. Ditto Chile’s northeasternmost bit of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego.
It really gets pretty arbitrary, depending on who’s drawing the lines delineating where oceans end and straits begin.
To which ocean do the straits belong?
Straits are not part of an ocean or sea, they are connective corridors between distinct bodies of water.
Columbia is a university in NYC and is very close to the Atlantic Ocean. The country is spelled Colombia. No U. This is not an ordinary nitpick, as my Spanish Literature prof (we read the stuff in English, though, no Spanish ability required) was an expert on Panama and Colombia, and his very first words to us on the first day of class were, “Colombia does NOT, NOT, NOT have a U in it.”
Um, while that talks about straits, I don’t see where it says that they aren’t officially considered part of one or the other ocean in a case like the Straits of Magellan. I’m sure there is something on this, though; what does the body that governs nomenclature in the case of oceans say?
I looked at the 1984 treaty borders on maps and then found a book that clears this up.
Chili has a small intrusion into the Atlantic. The book also makes it clear that the mouth of the straits touches the Atlantic.
This is an extract from the book The Strait of Magellan by Michael A. Morris on page 91.
(line A-E of Map 3 which allows Chile to project into the Atlantic)
Oh Siam Sam …
At least I didn’t type it wrong every time. I had to type in the extraction by hand. I looked for the word Chili to make sure it wasn’t typed that way. Guess what I still missed it. Oh darn.
Well, according to wikipedia:
My prof must have been indifferent toward Chile. Or maybe he just liked a good steamin’ bowl of chili. Either way, he never mentioned that.
I think we should let the Bolivian Navy decide.
You are aware that’s about as offensive as offering you a Black and Tan Ale would be, right? The northernmost two provinces of Chile (on the Pacific) formerly belonged to Peru and Bolivia, in that order, and were lost to Chile after one of the odd collection of South American wars that most non-Latin Americans never hear of. In sum, Bolivia had, but lost to Chile, a short coastline including a valuable port and desert-nitrate industry, including a small navy and merchant marine. (Bolivia’s current navy, a gunboat or two, patrols the Bolivian coast of Lake Titicaca, not so much against Peruvian aggression as to keep a trained navy in being.)
Now, the time the Paraguayan cavalry charged and defeated a U.S. Navy gunboat, that’s a different story! 
Offering me a black and tan ale wouldn’t offend me. Maybe a Belfast carbomb, but sure if you’re paying. 
Thanks Siam Sam, you said it for me.
Of course, there’s no good reason we don’t call it Columbia. Plenty of countries have English names that are different from their original.
Hay muchas U’s en Colombia:
Colombia Universities:
[ul][li]Corporación Universitaria Remington, Medellin[/li][li]CUC - Corporación Universitaria de la Costa, Barranquilla[/li][li]EAFIT - Universidad EAFIT, Antioquia[/li][li]Escuela Colombiana de Ingenieria - Bogota Engineering University, Bogotá[/li][li]Fundación Universidad Central, Santa Fe de Bogotá[/li][li]Fundación Universitaria Luis Amigó, Medellín[/li][li]Politécnico Grancolombiano, Bogotá[/li][li]Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Santiago de Cali[/li][li]UDCA - Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas y Ambientales, Bogotá[/li][li]Universidad Antonio Narino, Santa Fé de Bogota[/li][li]Universidad Autónoma de Bucaramanga, Bucaramanga[/li][li]Universidad Autónoma de Manizales[/li][li]Universidad Autónoma Latinoamericana, Medellín[/li][li]Universidad Católica de Manizales Colombia, Caldas[/li][li]Universidad Católica de Oriente, Rionegro[/li][li]Universidad Catolica Popular del Risaralda, Pereira[/li][li]Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia, Medellín[/li][li]Universidad de América, Santa Fé de Bogotá[/li][li]Universidad de Antioquia[/li][li]Universidad de Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano, Santa Fé de Bogotá[/li][li]Universidad de La Sabana, Puente del Común Chía[/li][li]Universidad de La Salle, Santa Fé de Bogota[/li][li]University of Los Andes, Bogota[/li][li]Universidad de Manizales, Manizales[/li][li]Universidad de Medellin, Medellín[/li][li]Universidad de Nariño, Pasto Nariño[/li][li]Universidad de Pamplona, Pamplona[/li][li]Universidad de San Buenaventura - San Buenaventura University, Calì[/li][li] Universidad de San Buenaventura - Medellín, Medellín[/li][li]USB - Universidad de San Buenaventura, Cartagena de Indias[/li][li]Universidad de San Buenaventura, Bogotá[/li][li]Universidad del Cauca, Popay[/li][li]Universidad del Magdalena, Santa Marta[/li][li]Universidad del Norte[/li][li]Universidad del Rosario - Rosario University[/li][li]Universidad del Tolima, Santa Helena[/li][li]Universidad del Valle, Cali[/li][li]Universidad Districtal Francisco Jose de Caldas[/li][li]Universidad Externado de Colombia, Santa Fé de Bogotá[/li][li]Universidad Icesi, Cali[/li][li]Universidad Industrial de Santander, Bucaramanga[/li][li]Universidad Javeriana - Pontificia Universidad Javeriana[/li][li]Universidad Libre, Pereira[/li][li]Universidad Los Libertadores, Bogotá[/li][li]Universidad Militar Nueva Granada[/li][li]UNAD - Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia, Bogotá[/li][li]Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogota[/li][li] Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellín[/li][li]Universidad Pedagógica Nacional, Bogotà[/li][li]Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana - Medellin[/li][li]Universidad Santo Tomás - University Santo Tomas, Bogota[/li][li]Universidad Sergio Arboleda, Santa Fé de Bogotá[/li][li]Universidad Surcolombiana, Huila[/li] Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira[/ul]
BC: The Other Col*mbia.