Lumaco is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

and commune in Malleco Province in the Araucanía Region of

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 ...

. Its name in

Mapudungun Mapuche (, Mapuche & Spanish: , or Mapudungun; from ' 'land' and ' 'speak, speech') is an Araucanian language related to Huilliche spoken in south-central Chile and west-central Argentina by the Mapuche people (from ''mapu'' 'land' and ''che ...

means "water of '' luma''". Lumaco is located to northeast of Temuco and from Angol. It shares a boundary to the north with the communes of

Purén Purén is a city (2002 pop. 12,868) and commune in Malleco Province of La Araucanía Region, Chile. It is located in the west base of the Nahuelbuta mountain range (650 km. south of Santiago). The economical activity of Purén is based in fo ...

and

Los Sauces Los Sauces () is a Chilean town and commune in the Malleco Province, Araucanía Region. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Los Sauces spans an area of and has 7,581 inhabitants (3,847 men and 3,734 wo ...

, to the east with

Traiguén Traiguén () is a Chilean city and commune in the Malleco Province, Araucanía Region. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Traiguén spans an area of and has 19,534 inhabitants (9,734 men and 9,800 wo ...

and

Galvarino Galvarino (died c. November 30, 1557) was a famous Mapuche warrior during the majority of the early part of the Arauco War. He fought and was taken prisoner along with one hundred and fifty other Mapuche, in the Battle of Lagunillas against gove ...

, to the south with

Cholchol Cholchol is a Chilean town and commune located in Cautín Province, Araucanía Region. The commune was created by Law 19,944 on April 22, 2004 by dividing off the northern area of the existing Nueva Imperial commune. Demographics According to the ...

and

Carahue Carahue () is a city and commune in southern Chile. It is located 56 km west of Temuco, on the northern bank of the Imperial River. The city was founded as La Imperial on April 16, 1552 by Pedro de Valdivia. La Imperial or Antigua ldImper ...

in Cautin Province, and the west with

Tirúa Tirúa () is a Chilean commune and town in Arauco Province, Biobío Region. The 2010 Chile earthquake led to a permanent uplift of Tirúa of about 180 cm above sea level, the highest recorded uplift related to the earthquake. This caused a large i ...

and

Contulmo Contulmo ( Mapudungun: "place of transit") is a Chilean town and commune in Arauco Province, Biobío Region. Colonized by Germans of Berlin since 1884. Geography Contulmo spans an area of It is bordered by the commune of Cañete to the north a ...

in the Arauco Province of the

Biobío Region The Biobío Region ( es, Región del Biobío ), is one of Chile's sixteen regions of Chile, regions (first-order administrative divisions). With a population of 1.5 million, thus being the third most populated region in Chile, it is divided int ...

. The area of Lumaco and

is rich in

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 sha ...

and early Spanish archaeological sites.

Geography

The epicenter of the

1960 Valdivia earthquake The 1960 Valdivia earthquake and tsunami ( es, link=no, Terremoto de Valdivia) or the Great Chilean earthquake (''Gran terremoto de Chile'') on 22 May 1960 was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded. Various studies have placed it at 9.4– ...

, the largest earthquake ever recorded in the world, was near Lumaco.

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 incl ...

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 ...

, Lumaco spans an area of and has 11,405 inhabitants (6,074 men and 5,331 women). Of these, 4,132 (36.2%) 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, t ...

s and 7,273 (63.8%) 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 descri ...

s. The population fell by 7% (853 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, Lumaco is a third-level

administrative division of Chile The administrative division or territorial organization of Chile exemplifies characteristics of a unitary state. State administration is functionally and geographically decentralized, as appropriate for each authority in accordance with the law. ...

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 counci ...

, 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) a ...

who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Manuel Painiqueo Tragnolao ( PS). Within the

electoral divisions of Chile Chile has two distinct electoral division systems: * To elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Senate, Chile is divided into several electoral divisions, namely electoral districts and senatorial constituencies. * To elect members of ...

, Lumaco is represented in the

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 R ...

by Gonzalo Arenas (

UDI Udi may refer to: Places * Udi, Enugu, a local government areas and city in Nigeria * Udi, a place in the Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh, India People * Udi Gal (born 1979), Israeli Olympic sailor * Udi Vaks (born 1979), Israeli Olympic judoka ...

) and Mario Venegas ( PDC) as part of the 48th electoral district, together with Angol,

Renaico Renaico () is a city and commune forming part of the Malleco Province in the Araucanía Region in southern Chile. The city is located on the south bank of the Renaico River. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Ins ...

Collipulli Collipulli is a city and commune forming part of the Malleco Province in the Araucanía Region in southern Chile. Its name means "coloured lands" in the Mapuche language spoken in the area. It has a population of 22,354 (2005) and an area of . Its ...

, Ercilla,

and

. 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 el ...

by Alberto Espina Otero ( RN) and Jaime Quintana Leal ( PPD) as part of the 14th senatorial constituency (Araucanía-North).

References

Francisco Solano Asta-Buruaga y Cienfuegos, Diccionario geográfico de la República de Chile, Lumaco (Fuerte de), pg. 389
{{Communes in Araucanía Region Communes of Chile Populated places in Malleco Province