Cachapoal Province ( es, Provincia de Cachapoal) is one of three

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

of the central

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

of O'Higgins (VI). Its

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

is the city of

Rancagua Rancagua () is a city and commune in central Chile and part of the Rancagua conurbation. It is the capital of the Cachapoal Province and of the O'Higgins Region, located south of the national capital of Santiago. It was originally named Santa ...

(pop. 214,344).

Geography and demography

According to the 2002 census by the

National Statistics Institute National Institute of Statistics may refer to: *National Institute of Statistics of Bolivia *National Institute of Statistics of Cambodia *National Institute of Statistics and Census of Costa Rica *National Institute of Statistics and Census of Nica ...

(''INE''), the province spans an area of and had a population of 542,901 inhabitants (271,226 men and 271,675 women), giving it a population density of . It is the fifth most populated province in the country. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 13.8% (65,871 persons).

Administration

As a province, Cachapoal is a second-level

administrative division Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

of Chile. It is governed by the regional delegate of O'Higgins, who is appointed by the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Communes

The province comprises seventeen

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, ...

, each governed by a municipality consisting of an elected

alcalde Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) a ...

and

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

. *

Codegua Codegua () is a Chilean commune and city in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region. According to the 2002 census, the commune population was 10,796 and has an area of 286.9 km². Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Sta ...

Coínco Coinco is a Chilean commune and town in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region. According to the 2012 census, the commune population was 6,709 and has an area of . Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Coi ...

* Coltauco *

Doñihue Doñihue () is a Chilean city and commune in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region. It is approximately 20 kilometers (12 miles) west-southwest of Rancagua on route H-30. The comune has two principal towns, Doñihue and Lo Miranda. Demographics ...

Graneros Graneros is a Chilean commune and city in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region. Deportes Graneros se conoce como unas de las candidatas a ganar la copa de la región Libertador Bernardo Ohiggins Tiene su Estadio renovado,El Estadio Miguel Riffo ...

* Las Cabras *

Machalí Machalí is a Chilean commune and city in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Machalí spans an area of and has 28,628 inhabitants (14,297 men and 14,331 women ...

* Malloa *

Olivar Olivar is a commune in Chile, located in the O'Higgins Region, 10 km south of Rancagua, and administered by the municipality of Olivar. The main economic activities range from agriculture and food production, especially apples for exportatio ...

Peumo Peumo is a Chilean city and commune in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region. It is believed that Peumo was named for the vast amount of Cryptocarya alba, or Peumo trees, that grow there. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the Nation ...

Pichidegua Pichidegua () is a Chilean commune and town in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Pichidegua spans an area of and has 17,756 inhabitants (9,208 men and 8,548 wo ...

* Quinta de Tilcoco *

Requínoa Requínoa () is a Chilean commune and city in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Requínoa spans an area of and had 22,161 inhabitants (11,378 men and 10,783 w ...

Rengo The , commonly known as , is the largest national trade union center in Japan, with over six million members as of 2011.Rengo websitRengo brochure 2010-2011 Retrieved on July 6, 2012 It was founded in 1989 as a result of the merger of the Japan ...

Mostazal Mostazal () is a Chilean commune in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region. The capital of the commune is the city of San Francisco de Mostazal. Geography The commune spans an area of . The ''Plaza de San Francisco'' has an elevation of . Demog ...

San Vicente de Tagua Tagua San Vicente de Tagua Tagua, or just San Vicente, is a Chilean commune and city in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, San Vicente spans an area of and had 40,25 ...

Cachapoal Valley wine region

Located 85 km (53 mi) south of

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

, the Cachapoal Valley is a wine-growing area in Cachapoal in the O`Higgins Region of central

, to the north of the Rapel Valley.Regions, Cachapoal Valley
Published by Wine-Searcher.com , Last updated 21-Aug-2013 by Wine-Searcher Staff retrieved October 22, 2013 It is located between the heights of

Paine Paine may refer to: Geography * Paine, Chile *Paine College, a defunct Historically Black college in Augusta, Georgia *Paine Field, an airport in Everett, Washington, United States *Paine Lake, a lake in Minnesota * Paine River, a waterstream loca ...

to the north and Pelequén to the south and between the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

to the west and the smaller coastal range to the east. The valley takes its name from the

Cachapoal River Cachapoal River is tributary river of the Rapel River in Chile located in the Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Region. The river gives its name to the Cachapoal Province. Cachapoal Valley The valley takes its name from the Cachapoal River th ...

that flows through Rapel Valley along with its tributaries, the Claro and Cortaderal Rivers. All these watercourses flow into Lake Rapel. The climate of the valley is temperate and consistently

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

, sheltered by the coastal range from the cooling influences of the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. Most of Cachapoal's noteworthy wineries and vineyards are located toward the east of the region, in the foothills of the Andes, away from the warmer valley floor. This is an area for

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebanon' ...

vines, whereas closer to the coast the ocean breezes flow through the coastal range, and there are more

Carménère The Carménère grape is a wine grape variety originally planted in the Médoc region of Bordeaux, France, where it was used to produce deep red wines and occasionally used for blending purposes in the same manner as Petit Verdot. A member of t ...

vines.

References

External links

*
''Gobernación de Cachapoal''
{{Communes in Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Region Cachapoal Provinces of O'Higgins Region