Limache 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 east a ...

an town and

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

in the

Marga Marga Province Marga Marga Province ( es, Provincia de Marga Marga) is one of the eight provinces in the central Chilean region of Valparaíso (V). Its capital is the city of Quilpué. History The province was created by Law 20,368 on August 25, 2009, and it bec ...

Valparaíso Region The Valparaíso Region ( es, Región de Valparaíso, links=no, ) is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions.Valparaíso Region, 2006 With the country's second-highest population of 1,790,219 , and fourth-smallest area of , ...

. Limache is the only township of Chile that has two urban areas: San Francisco de Limache on the north side of the Pelumpén stream, and Limache Viejo on the south side. Limache is famous for its tomato production and the religious feast of "The Virgin of the 40 Hours" ( es, La Virgen de las 40 Horas).

Geography

Limache spans an inland area of in Chile's Zona Central, located east of the

port city A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

and northwest of the national capital of

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, whos ...

Culture

The Feast of the Virgin of the 40 Hours (''La Fiesta de la Virgen de las 40 Horas'') begins in Limache 40 hours before the last Sunday in February with masses every hour, culminating on Sunday with a procession through the city.

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 National Institute of Statistics may refer to: *National Institute of Statistics of Bolivia *National Institute of Statistics of Cambodia *National Institute of Statistics and Census of Costa Rica *National Institute of Statistics and Census of Nica ...

Limache has 39,219 inhabitants (19,269 men and 19,950 women). Of these, 34,948 (89.1%) 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 4,271 (10.9%) 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 descr ...

s. The population grew by 12.6% (4,380 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a township, Limache is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a

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 counc ...

, headed by a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

who is directly elected every four years. The present mayor is Daniel Morales Espíndola (Independent, pro-RN). Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Limache is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Marcelo Schilling ( PS) and Arturo Squella ( UDI) as part of the 12th electoral district, (together with Olmué, Villa Alemana,

Quilpué Quilpué is a city and capital of the Marga Marga Province in central Chile's Valparaíso Region. It is part of the Greater Valparaíso metropolitan area. It is widely known as "City of the Sun" (''Ciudad del Sol'') and the urban part of it als ...

). The township is represented in the Senate by Ignacio Walker Prieto ( PDC) and Lily Pérez San Martín ( RN) as part of the 5th senatorial constituency (Valparaíso-Cordillera).

References

{{Authority control Communes of Chile Populated places in Marga Marga Province