Curicó Province () is one of four

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

of the central

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

of Maule (VII). Its capital is the city of

Curicó Curicó () is a city located in Chile's central valley and serves as the capital of the Curicó Province, which is part of the Maule Region. Positioned between the provinces of Colchagua and Talca, the region stretches from the Pacific Ocean ...

. It lies between the provinces of Colchagua and

Talca Talca () is a city and commune in Chile located about south of Santiago, and is the capital of both Talca Province and Maule Region (7th Region of Chile). As of the 2012 census, the city had a population of 201,142. The city is an important ...

and extends from the Pacific to the

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

frontier, spanning an area of . According to the 2002 census, the population was 244,053.

Administration

As a province, Curicó is a second-level

administrative division Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Communes

The province is composed of nine

communes A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

, each governed by a municipality consisting of an

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

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, borough cou ...

. *

* Hualañé * Licantén * Molina * Rauco * Romeral *

Sagrada Familia Sagrada is a Spanish word meaning "sacred Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. T ...

* Teno * Vichuquén

History

The region is named for the Curis, one of the tribes of Picunche or Promaucaes settled along the rivers of the central valley flowing into the Mataquito River, around the modern city of

. Others tribes were the Tenu along the Teno River (the modern Rauco and Teno communes) to the north. To the south were the Gualemo along the Lontué River the modern Molina commune. Along the Mataquito were the tribes centered on the modern towns of Palquibudi in

commune, La Huerta in Hualañé commune and

Lora LoRa (from "long range", sometimes abbreviated as "LR") is a physical proprietary radio communication technique. It is based on spread spectrum modulation techniques derived from chirp spread spectrum (CSS) technology. It was developed by Cycleo ...

in Licantén commune. On the coast north of the river, the Vichuquén in the commune of the same name. The province was created in 1865. Formerly it was part of the Colchagua Province. In 1974, because of a regionalisation process in Chile during the

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean military officer and politician who was the dictator of Military dictatorship of Chile, Chile from 1973 to 1990. From 1973 to 1981, he was the leader ...

regime executed by CONARA (''Comisión Nacional de Reforma Administrativa'' in Spanish, National Commission of Administrative Reform in English), the province was reshaped, taking place in the recently created Maule Region.

Geography and ecology

The eastern and western sections of Curicó Province are mountainous, and are separated by the fertile valley of central Chile. The provincial capital is

, on the Mataquito River, 194 km south of

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

. In some of the mountainous areas of the province is found the

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

Chilean Wine Palm ''Jubaea'' is a genus of palms with one species, ''Jubaea chilensis'', commonly known in English as the Chilean wine palm or Chile cocopalm, and palma chilena in Spanish. It is native to southwestern South America and is endemic to a small area ...

, '' Jubaea chilensis'', whose southern range is generally defined by the northern

Maule Region The Maule Region (, ) is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. Its capital is Talca. The region derives its name from the Maule River which, running westward from the Andes, bisects the region and spans a basin of about 20,6 ...

, e.g. Curicó Province; historically, this

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Chilean palm had a much wider distribution.

Demography

According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute (''INE''), the province spans an area of and had a population of 244,053 inhabitants (122,835 men and 121,218 women), giving it a population density of . Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 10.6% (23,396 persons).

Curicó Valley wine region

Curicó Valley is a wine-producing region in Chile's Central Valley and a

Denomination of Origin Denomination may refer to: * Religious denomination, such as a: ** Christian denomination ** Jewish denomination ** Islamic denomination ** Hindu denominations ** Buddhist denomination * Denomination (currency) * Denomination (postage stamp) ...

(DO) as defined by the Chilean

Appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the ingredients of a food or beverage originated, most often used for the origin of wine grapes. Restrictions other than geographical boundaries, s ...

system, the legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown. This area is located 200 km (124 miles) south of

’s capital city, at 35°S, a similar latitude to the southern tip of Spain. It is divided in two sub-regions: the Teno valley in the north and Lontue in the south. Wine production in this area is known for the variety of grapes, reliability and good value

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 Lebano ...

and

Sauvignon Blanc Sauvignon blanc () is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the city of Bordeaux in France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an ind ...

. Although European vines have been growing in the Curicó area since the mid-1800s, the modern wine production in Curicó began in the late 1970s when Spanish wine maker Miguel Torres decided to explore the capabilities of this area, bringing new technologies such as stainless steel tanks that are now very common in Chilean wine industry. Torres’ endeavour encouraged foreign investment which led to increased plantings and exploration of suitable grape varieties for the area. Today Curicó Valley is today one of the most productive wine regions in Chile. The valley's climate is varied. The eastern part near the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

is cooler than the western side due to the breezes coming down from the mountains, and most of the biggest producers are located in this area of Curicó and in Molina. At the western end, the coastal range protects the valley from the ocean influence. Curicó Valley is planted with more grape varieties than anywhere else in

, but the dominant varieties are

and

. Curicó may have yet to produce a Cabernet Sauvignon to rival Maipo's red wines and its Sauvignon Blanc still does not match the fresh, complex style found in Casablanca, but the valley is one of Chile's workhorse regions and its output is consistent and reliable.

Grape distribution by variety

* Climate: Mediterranean climate. 650mm/27.4 in of rain per year.. * Soils: clay, sand, decomposed granite. * Primary grapes: Cabernet,

Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse ...

, Carménère,

. * Total hectares planted: 1484 ha (3667 acres).Curicó Valley distribution chart
www.winesofchile.org retrieved October 10, 2013

References

Sources

Thomas Guevara, Historia de Curicó, Alicante : Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, 2000
Originally published in 1891. * C. Michael Hogan (2008
''Chilean Wine Palm: Jubaea chilensis'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg

External links

* (''Gobernación de Curicó'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Curico Province Provinces of Maule Region Provinces of Chile