Coronel, Chile

Coronel
—  City and Commune  —
Coat of arms
Location of Coronel commune in the Biobío Region
Coronel Location in Chile
Coordinates: 37°01′00″S 73°13′00″W / 37.0166667°S 73.2166667°W / -37.0166667; -73.2166667Coordinates: 37°01′00″S 73°13′00″W / 37.0166667°S 73.2166667°W / -37.0166667; -73.2166667
Country	Chile
Region	Biobío
Province	Concepción
Villa de Coronel	August 30, 1849
Government[1]
– Type	Municipality
– Alcalde
Area[2]
– Total	279 km2 (107.7 sq mi)
Elevation	16 m (52 ft)
Population (2002 Census)[2]
– Total	95,528
– Density	342.4/km2 (886.8/sq mi)
Demonym	Coronelino
Time zone	CLT (UTC−4)
– Summer (DST)	CLST (UTC−3)
Area code(s)	56 + 41
Website	Municipality of Coronel

Coronel is a Chilean city and commune, located in the Concepción Province of the eighth region of Biobío.

Geography

The city of Coronel is located in a sandy platform that goes from the mouth of the Biobío River to the Arauco Gulf bay, a muddy landscape, full of forests, typical of the region.

This muddy, forested landscape enclosed by high mountains was what the first Spanish conquistadors and settlers found when arriving. Vegetation and forests covered most of the area except very close to the coast. This type of landscape is characteristic of the province.

The total area of the commune is 279.4 km² (108 sq mi).^[2] Aside from its western coast along the Pacific Ocean, the commune is surrounded by other communes of the Concepción Province: San Pedro de la Paz to the north, Hualqui to the north and east, and Lota and Santa Juana to the south.

The Santa María Island also forms part of the city, which is represented there by a municipal delegate.

Climate

The climate of Coronel is temperate Mediterranean, common to the Chilean Coast Range, with moderate temperature variations. As Coronel is situated west of the mountain range, it generally receives winds out of the west and northwest and increased precipitation due to orographic lift. Its vicinity to the Pacific influences its annual temperature variations. The average temperature in summer is 17 °C (63 °F) and 8 °C (46 °F) in winter.

History

Like all territory to the south of Biobío River, this area was populated by the Mapuche. Historically, Spaniards called them as Araucaníans (araucanos) and their coastal territory as Araucanía.

This territory is an integral part of the Kingdom of Araucania and Patagonia, established on November 19, 1861. Klaus-Peter Pohland, Vice Chancellor of the Royal House of Araucania, holds the title of Count of Coronel.

The indigenous population of Coronel Bay was located into a war zone called Butanmapu de la costa. From the descriptions made by the Spaniards, it is probable that before the Spaniards' colonization, half of the Mapuche population lived in this region. Also, the population density of the tribes was evenly distributed on both east and west sides of the Cordillera de Nahuelbuta

The city of Lota was an early coal mining settlement in the area. The mine was composed of "Chiflones" 1, 2, 3, 4, Pique Santa Maria, and Pique Arenas Blancas. This was the last mine closed, because of a grisu gas explosion where 21 miners died. This mine was the deepest in South America, at 1,000 m (3,281 ft).^{[citation needed]}

The World War I naval Battle of Coronel between ships of the United Kingdom and Germany was fought on 1 November 1914 off the coast of Coronel.

The city was the seat of Lautaro Department, later known as the Coronel Department.

Demographics

According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Coronel spans an area of 279.4 km² (108 sq mi) and has 95,528 inhabitants (46,766 men and 48,762 women). Of these, 91,469 (95.8%) lived in urban areas and 4,059 (4.2%) in rural areas. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 14.5% (12,102 persons).^[2] The demonym for a man from Coronel is Coronelino and Coronelina for a woman.

Administration

As a commune, Coronel is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a communal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Leonidas Romero. The communal council has the following members:^[1]

• José Suazo Muñoz
• Bernardo Ulloa Pereira
• Edmundo Salas Norambuena
• Francisco Reyes Aguayo
• Daniel Rosales Salgado
• Tania Concha Hidalgo

Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Coronel is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Sergio Bobadilla (UDI) and Clemira Pacheco (PS) as part of the 45th electoral district, (together with Tomé, Penco, Florida, Hualqui and Santa Juana). The commune is represented in the Senate by Alejandro Navarro Brain (MAS) and Hosain Sabag Castillo (PDC) as part of the 12th senatorial constituency (Biobío-Cordillera).

References

1. ^ ^{a b} (Spanish) "Municipality of Coronel". http://www.Coronel.cl/. Retrieved 28 July 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d} (Spanish) "National Statistics Institute". http://www.ine.cl/canales/chile_estadistico/censos_poblacion_vivienda/censo_pobl_vivi.php. Retrieved 28 July 2010. 

External links

• MSN Map - elevation = 83m
• (Spanish) Municipality of Coronel