Teja island (Spanish ''isla Teja'') is an island in the city of

Valdivia Valdivia (; Mapuche: Ainil) is a city and commune in southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder Pedro de Valdivia and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia, and Cau-Ca ...

, Chile, surrounded by three rivers:

Cau-Cau river Caucau River is minor river in the city of Valdivia, southern Chile. Caucau River acts as a regulating channel between Cruces River and Calle-Calle River forming the Isla Teja island in front of the city centre. It confluence with Calle-Calle River ...

to the north,

Cruces river The Cruces River ( es, Río Cruces) is a river in south-central Chile. Río Cruces originates from hills near the Villarica volcano and flows then in south-west direction. The southern and final part of the river flows in a south-south-west di ...

to the west and

Valdivia river The Valdivia River or Río Valdivia, as it is known locally, is a major river in southern Chile. It is the continuation of the Calle-Calle River, from the point where it meets the Cau-Cau River in the city of Valdivia. The Valdivia river ends i ...

to the southeast. Prior to the mid-19th century the island was known as ''isla Valenzuela'' after Francisco de Valenzuela, an

encomendero The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish labour system that rewarded conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. The labourers, in theory, were provided with benefits by the conquerors for whom they laboured, including military ...

that settled there in 1552. In the second half of the 19th century the island became known for its

roof tile A roof ( : roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of temper ...

(Spanish: ''teja'') and brick factory, hence the name ''isla Teja''. Initially it was outside the proper city, but with the arrival of German immigrants many of them settled there and since 1939 the island is directly connected to downtown Valdivia through the

Pedro de Valdivia bridge Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for '' Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meanin ...

. A large section of the island's western riverside sank below water level due to the

Great Chilean 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– ...

of 1960. The island holds the main campus of

Universidad Austral de Chile Austral University of Chile ( es, Universidad Austral de Chile or UACh) is a Chilean research university based primarily in Valdivia, with a satellite campus in Puerto Montt. Founded on September 7, 1954, it is one of the eight original Chilean ...

and since the construction of Río Cruces bridge in 1987 it became the main route to the neighboring areas of Niebla,

Corral A pen is an enclosure for holding livestock. It may also perhaps be used as a term for an enclosure for other animals such as pets that are unwanted inside the house. The term describes types of enclosures that may confine one or many anima ...

and

Mancera Island Mancera Island ( es, Isla Mancera) is a minor island at the mouth of Valdivia River in Corral Bay. Prior to being named after the Marquis of Mancera the island was known as ''Güiguacabin'' (from ''ühueñn'', "whistle", or ''ühua'', "maize", an ...

. The island contain wetlands that are protected by the Urban Wetlands Law.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Teja Island River islands of Chile Islands of Los Ríos Region Populated places in Valdivia Province Neighborhoods in Valdivia