Chiloé Province

Chiloé Province (Spanish: Provincia de Chiloé) is one of the four provinces in the southern Chilean region of Los Lagos (X). It encompasses all of Chiloé Archipelago (including Chiloé Island) with the exception of the Desertores Islands. The province spans a surface area of 9,181.6 km² (3,545 sq mi). Its capital is Castro, and the seat of the Roman Catholic bishopric is Ancud.

Administration

As a province, Chiloé is a second-level administrative division of Chile, governed by a provincial governor who is appointed by the president.

Communes

The province is composed of ten communes, each governed by a municipality consisting of an alcalde and municipal council.

Geography and demography

According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the province spans an area of 7,165.5 km² (2,767 sq mi) and had a population of 142,194 inhabitants (71,386 men and 70,808 women), giving it a population density of 19.8/km² (51/sq mi). Of these, 82,058 (57.7%) lived in urban areas and 60,136 (42.3%) in rural areas. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 9.1% (11,805 persons).

Chiloé Island

Chiloé Island (Spanish: Isla de Chiloé), also known as Greater Island of Chiloé (Isla Grande de Chiloé), is the largest island of the Chiloé Archipelago off the coast of Chile, in the Pacific Ocean. The island is located in southern Chile, in the Los Lagos Region.

Geography

With an area of 8,394 square kilometres (3,241 sq mi), Chiloé Island is the second largest island in Chile, after the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, and the fifth largest in South America. It is separated from the Chilean mainland by the Chacao Strait (Canal Chacao) to the north, and by the Gulf of Ancud (Golfo de Ancud) and the Gulf of Corcovado (Golfo Corcovado) to the east; the Pacific ocean lies to the west, and the Chonos Archipelago lies to the south, across the Boca del Guafo. The island is 190 km (118 mi) from north to south, and averages 55–65 km (34–40 mi) wide. The capital is Castro, on the east side of the island; the second largest town is Ancud, at the island's northwest corner, and there are several smaller port towns on the east side of the island, such as Quellón, Dalcahue and Chonchi.

Isla Grande

Isla Grande is a small island and corregimiento in Portobelo District, Colón Province, Panama, off the Caribbean coast. It had a population of 1,037 as of 2010. Its population as of 1990 was 626; its population as of 2000 was 1,055. During the right times of year, the water between the island and the mainland provides an excellent surfing environment. Most of the people found in the town are of African descent and trace it back to black African slaves and those known as Cimarrones.

References

Chiloé Archipelago

The Chiloé Archipelago (Spanish: Archipiélago de Chiloé) consists of several islands lying off the coast of Chile. It is separated from mainland Chile by Chacao Channel in the north, the Sea of Chiloé in the east and Gulf of Corcovado to the southeast. All of the archipelago—except Desertores Islands, which are part of Palena Province—forms the province of Chiloé. The main island is Chiloé Island (Isla Grande de Chiloé).

Chiloé is from the Mapuche word chillwe, meaning "seagull place". Chill or chülle refers to the brown-hooded gull, and the -we suffix means 'place'. The adjective and demonym for this region is chilote in the masculine and chilota in the feminine.

Chiloé is widely known for its distinctive folklore, mythology, cuisine and unique architecture. The variety of potato which is most widely grown throughout the world is indigenous to the islands.

Geography

The province of Chiloé includes all the Chiloé Archipelago except the Grupo Desertores islands, plus the Isla Guafo. The area of Chiloé province is 9,181 square kilometres (3,545 square miles). The administrative center of the province is Castro, while the episcopal see of the Roman Catholic bishopric is Ancud. Chiloé province is part of the Los Lagos Region (Región de los Lagos), which mainly includes the Chilean lakes region on the mainland north of Chiloé. The administrative center of the region is Puerto Montt.

Chile

Coordinates: 30°S 71°W / 30°S 71°W / -30; -71

Chile (/ˈtʃɪli/;Spanish: [ˈtʃile]), officially the Republic of Chile (Spanish:  República de Chile ), is a South American country occupying a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far south. Chilean territory includes the Pacific islands of Juan Fernández, Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas, and Easter Island in Oceania. Chile also claims about 1,250,000 square kilometres (480,000 sq mi) of Antarctica, although all claims are suspended under the Antarctic Treaty.

The arid Atacama Desert in northern Chile contains great mineral wealth, principally copper. The relatively small central area dominates in terms of population and agricultural resources, and is the cultural and political center from which Chile expanded in the late 19th century when it incorporated its northern and southern regions. Southern Chile is rich in forests and grazing lands, and features a string of volcanoes and lakes. The southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting peninsulas, and islands.