Melipeuco () 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 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 ...

( es, comuna) 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 at the foot of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

, in the Province of Cautín,

Araucanía Region The Araucanía ( ), La Araucanía Region ( es, Región de La Araucanía ) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions, and comprises two provinces: Malleco in the north and Cautín in the south. Its capital and largest city is Te ...

. Melipeuco is from the southern entrance of the

Conguillío National Park Conguillío National Park is located in the Andes, in the provinces of Cautín and Malleco, in the Araucanía Region of Chile also known as Region IX. Its name derives from the Mapuche word for "water with Araucaria seeds". Among the att ...

. The Nevados de Sollipulli, an ice-filled volcanic

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

surrounded by numerous hot water springs and geysers, lie south of the town. Lake Carilafquén is also located in this area. At the edge of the Nevados de Sollipulli, at the Alpehue intersection away, there are several hot springs with water from , even in the middle of glacier blocks.

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 ...

, Melipeuco spans an area of and has 5,628 inhabitants (2,908 men and 2,720 women). Of these, 2,333 (41.5%) 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 3,295 (58.5%) 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 grew by 5.9% (315 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, Melipeuco 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 Eduardo Navarrete Fuentes (

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 ...

). 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 ...

, Melipeuco 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 Enrique Estay (UDI) and Fuad Chahín ( PDC) as part of the 49th electoral district, together with

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Curacautín Curacautín, which means "Gathering Stone" in Mapudungun, is a commune and city in the Chilean province of Malleco. Curacautín is located 90 kilometres northeast of Temuco, in a valley near the volcanoes Tolhuaca, Lonquimay and Llaima, all of ...

Lonquimay Lonquimay is a town and commune in the Malleco Province of southern Chile's Araucanía Region. Transport It is the terminus of an abandoned broad gauge railway project which supporters cited as the most practical railway route through the An ...

Vilcún Vilcún (Mapudungun for "lizard") is a Chilean town and commune in Cautín Province, Araucanía Region. The town is an important gateway for tourists visiting Conguillío National Park and Llaima volcano. The commune also includes the locali ...

Lautaro Lautaro (Anglicized as 'Levtaru') ( arn, Lef-Traru " swift hawk") (; 1534? – April 29, 1557) was a young Mapuche toqui known for leading the indigenous resistance against Spanish conquest in Chile and developing the tactics that would conti ...

, Perquenco 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 gov ...

. 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).

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References

External links

*
Municipality of Melipeuco
{{Communes in Araucanía Region Communes of Chile Populated places established in 1981 Populated places in Cautín Province