Iloca is a small coastal town in

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 ...

, located in the commune of

Licantén Licantén is a town within the Licantén commune, administered by the Municipality of Licantén within the Curicó Province in the Maule Region of Chile. The commune also include the coastal town of Iloca. Demographics According to the 2002 cen ...

Curicó Province Curicó Province () 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 Argentine frontier, spanning ...

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 ...

. It is located 120 kilometers west 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 ...

. According to the 2002 census, it has a population of 345 inhabitants, although it increases considerably during the summer months. Iloca was critically damaged by the

2010 Chile earthquake The 2010 Chile earthquake and tsunami () occurred off the coast of central Chile on Saturday, 27 February at 03:34:12 local time (06:34:12 UTC), having a magnitude of 8.8 on the moment magnitude scale, with intense shaking lasting for about ...

, stemming mostly from the following

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...

that hit the nearby coast hours later. Approximately 70% of Iloca's buildings were destroyed by these disasters. The closest large settlement is the city of

Constitución, Chile Constitución () is a city and commune of Talca Province, Maule Region, Chile. It was historically a popular seaside resort. However, following the growth of the industrial sector (paper and pulp) tourism has since declined. Constitución is a m ...

Etymology

The name "''Iloca''" comes from the

Mapuche The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...

word "''ilokan"'', meaning the act of killing an animal to extract its meat.

Notable people

Rayén Quitral, Opera singer and Actress

References

{{commons, Iloca Beaches of Chile Populated places in Curicó Province Coasts of Maule Region