Coronel () is a
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 eas ...
an
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be de ...
and
commune, located in the
Concepción Province of the eighth
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
Bio Bío.
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 .
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
San Pedro de la Paz () is a Chilean city and commune located in the Concepción Province, Biobío Region. It has some 80,447 inhabitants according to the 2002 national census. In 2005, the Pedro Aguirre Cerda avenue, the main avenue in the cit ...
to the north,
Hualqui to the north and east, and
Lota Lota may refer to:
Places
*Lota (crater), a crater on Mars
*Lota, Chile, a city and commune in Chile
*Lota, Punjab, village in Pakistan
*Lota, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Australia
**Lota railway station, a station on the Cleveland line
**Lo ...
and
Santa Juana to the south.
Santa María Island also forms part of the city, which is represented there by a municipal delegate.
Climate
The climate of Coronel is
temperate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
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 th ...
, 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 proximity to the Pacific influences its annual temperature variations. The average temperature in summer is and in winter.
History
Like all territory to the south of
Biobío River, this area was populated by the
Mapuche
The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who s ...
. Historically, Spaniards called them as Araucaníans (''araucanos'') and their coastal territory as ''
Araucanía''.
This territory is a part of the
Kingdom of Araucania and Patagonia, an unrecognised state established on November 19, 1861.
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 .
The
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
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.
In March 2013, an investigation was started after thousands of sea animals washed ashore.
''Thousands of prawns wash ashore in Chile''
March 21, 2013 Euronews
Euronews (styled on-air in lowercase as euronews) is a European television news network, headquartered in Lyon, France. The network began broadcasting on 1 January 1993 and covers world news from a European perspective.
The majority of Euron ...
Demographics
According to the 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 in ...
of the National Statistics Institute, Coronel spans an area of and has 95,528 inhabitants (46,766 men and 48,762 women). Of these, 91,469 (95.8%) lived in urban area
An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, ...
s and 4,059 (4.2%) in rural area
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are des ...
s. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 14.5% (12,102 persons).demonym
A demonym (; ) or gentilic () is a word that identifies a group of people (inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place (hamlet, village, town, city, region, province, ...
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
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) ...
who is directly elected every four years. The 2012-2016 alcalde is Leonidas Romero. The communal council has the following members:Chamber of Deputies
The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures.
Description
Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon ...
by Marcelo Chávez (PDC PDC may refer to:
In science and technology Chemistry, biology and medicine
* Phosducin, a human protein and gene in the retina
* Pyridinium dichromate (Cornforth reagent), a chromium-based oxidant
* Pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, an enzyme ...
) and Clemira Pacheco ( PS) as part of the 45th electoral district, (together with Tomé, Penco, Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...
, Hualqui and Santa Juana). The commune is represented in the Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...
by Alejandro Navarro Brain (MAS
Mas, Más or MAS may refer to:
Film and TV
* Más y Menos, fictional superhero characters, from the Teen Titans animated television series
* Más (Breaking Bad), "Más" (''Breaking Bad''), a season three episode of ''Breaking Bad''
Songs
* Más ( ...
) and Jacqueline Van Rysselberghe Herrera ( UDI) as part of the 12th senatorial constituency (Biobío-Cordillera).
References
External links
*
Municipality of Coronel
{{Authority control
Communes of Chile
Port cities in Chile
Populated places established in 1851
Populated places in Concepción Province
1851 establishments in Chile