Colchagua Province ( es, Provincia de Colchagua) 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 ...

San Fernando San Fernando may refer to: People *Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia Places Argentina *San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...

. It is bordered on the north by

Cachapoal Province Cachapoal Province ( es, Provincia de Cachapoal) is one of three provinces of the central Chilean region of O'Higgins (VI). Its capital is the city of Rancagua (pop. 214,344). Geography and demography According to the 2002 census by the National ...

, on the east by the

Argentine Republic Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, on the south by

Curicó Province Curicó Province ( es, Provincia de Curicó) is one of four provinces of the central Chilean region of Maule (VII). Its capital is the city of Curicó. It lies between the provinces of Colchagua and Talca and extends from the Pacific to the Arg ...

, and on the west by

Cardenal Caro Province Cardenal Caro Province ( es, Provincia Cardenal Caro) is one of the three provinces of the central Chilean region of O'Higgins (VI). The capital of Cardenal Caro is Pichilemu. Name The province is named after Cardinal José María Caro Rodrígue ...

Geography and demography

The area of Colchagua is officially estimated at with a population (2002

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

) at 196,566. Extending across the central valley of Chile, the province has a considerable area devoted to traditional agriculture and

wine-growing Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

. Its principal rivers are the

Rapel River Rapel River is a river of Chile located in the O'Higgins Region. It begins at the confluence of the rivers Cachapoal and Tinguiririca in an area best known as ''La Junta''. At present day, this area is impounded by Rapel Dam, creating Rapel Lak ...

and its tributary, the Tinguiririca. The principal towns are

, the provincial capital, Santa Cruz,

Chimbarongo Chimbarongo, Chile, is a city and commune located south of Santiago in the Colchagua Province of the O'Higgins Region. Many of the people of Chimbarongo make their living weaving wickerwork, ''mimbre'', baskets. Demographics According to the 2 ...

Nancagua Nancagua () is a Chilean city and commune in Colchagua Province, O'Higgins Region. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Nancagua spans an area of and has 15,634 inhabitants (7,959 men and 7,675 women). ...

and

Palmilla Palmilla is a Chilean city and commune in Colchagua Province, O'Higgins Region. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, the commune of Palmilla spans an area of and has 11,200 inhabitants (5,825 men and ...

. San Fernando is one of the several towns founded in 1742 by the governor-general

José Antonio Manso de Velasco José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

, and it had a population of 64,000 in 2002.

Administration

As a province, Colchagua 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, governed by a provincial delegate 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 ...

. The province comprises ten communes, each governed by a municipality consisting of an

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 ...

. *

Chépica Chépica is a Chilean town and commune in Colchagua Province, O'Higgins Region. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Chépica spans an area of and has 13,857 inhabitants (7,100 men and 6,757 women). Of ...

Lolol Lolol ( Mapudungun: "land of crabs and holes"; ) is a Chilean commune and town in Colchagua Province, O'Higgins Region. History During the 17th century, several Haciendas were created throughout the Colchagua Valley; they were great lands whic ...

Peralillo Peralillo is a Chilean town and commune in Colchagua Province, O'Higgins Region. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Peralillo spans an area of and has 9,729 inhabitants (5,007 men and 4,722 women). ...

Placilla Placilla is a Chilean town and commune in Colchagua Province, O'Higgins Region. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Placilla spans an area of and has 8,078 inhabitants (4,134 men and 3,944 women). Of ...

Pumanque Pumanque is a Chilean commune in Colchagua Province, O'Higgins Region. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Pumanque spans an area of and has 3,442 inhabitants (1,793 men and 1,649 women), making the c ...

* Santa Cruz

Transport

The state central railway (

EFE Agencia EFE, S.A. () is a Spanish international news agency, the major multimedia news agency in Spanish language and the world's fourth largest wire service after the Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse. EFE was created in 1939 ...

) from

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 ...

to the south crosses the province and has a regular stop in San Fernando. It used to have a branch running from San Fernando via

Pichilemu Pichilemu (, ), originally known as Pichilemo, is a beach resort city and commune in central Chile, and capital of Cardenal Caro Province in the O'Higgins Region. The commune comprises an urban centre and twenty-two villages, including Ciruelo ...

on the coast. This is now closed, although one section of it has recently opened a limited service aimed at the

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...

trade. The more local ''

Metrotrén The Metrotrén (Spanish compound for ''metro'', ' subway' + ''tren'', 'train') was a Chilean commuter rail and regional rail service operated by the state-owned rail company EFE. The system started as a line between Santiago and San Fernando, u ...

'' service runs between Santiago and San Fernando stopping at most of the towns in between. There are frequent trains between these two points. The

Pan-American Highway The Pan-American Highway (french: (Auto)route panaméricaine/transaméricaine; pt, Rodovia/Auto-estrada Pan-americana; es, Autopista/Carretera/Ruta Panamericana) is a network of roads stretching across the Americas and measuring about in to ...

runs through the San Fernando commune, passing close to the east side of the town.

References

{{Authority control Provinces of Chile Provinces of O'Higgins Region

Geography and demography

Administration

Transport

See also

References