Iloca is a small coastal town in

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 ...

, 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 cens ...

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 Ar ...

, Maule Region. It is located 120 kilometers west of

Curicó Curicó (), meaning "Black Waters" in Mapudungun (originally meaning "Land of Black Water"), is the capital city of the Curicó Province, part of the Maule Region in Chile's central valley. The province lies between the provinces of Colchagu ...

. According to the 2002 census, it has a population of 345 inhabitants, although it increases considerably during the summer season. This settlement was one of the most damaged by the

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

, and mostly after its

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) 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 other underwater exp ...

that hit the Chilean coast hours later. Approximately a 70% of the Iloca's constructions were destroyed by the cataclysm. The closest main town is

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 mi ...

Toponymy

"Iloca" comes from Mapudungun ''ilokan'', that means in Spanish ''carnear'' (to kill an animal and to extract its meat).

References

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

Toponymy

See also

References