Vallenar is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

and commune in Atacama Region,

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 ...

. It is the capital of the

Huasco Province Huasco Province (, es, Provincia de Huasco) is one of three Provinces of Chile, provinces of the northern Chilean Regions of Chile, region of Atacama Region, Atacama (III). Vallenar is the capital city. Geography and demography According to the ...

and is located in the valley of the

Huasco River Huasco River is a river of Chile located in the Huasco Province, Atacama Region. Its headwaters in the upper catchments in high-altitude Andes glaciers are the Estrecho River, a tributary of El Tránsito River (catchment area 4,135 km2), and Pot ...

. Vallenar has 52,000 inhabitants. Its main activities are farming and mining. It was founded as San Ambrosio de Ballenary by

Ambrose O'Higgins Ambrosio Bernardo O'Higgins y O'Higgins, 1st Marquess of Osorno (c. 1720 – 19 March 1801) born Ambrose Bernard O'Higgins (''Ambrós Bearnárd Ó hUiginn'', in Irish), was an Irish-Spanish colonial administrator and a member of the O'Higgins fa ...

in 1789, after his birthplace in

Ballynary Ballynary () is the name of a townland on the eastern shore of Lough Arrow in the southern corner of County Sligo in Ireland. Ballynary was the ancestral seat of the O'Higgins family (or ''Ó hUiginn'' in Irish) for 700 years, until they were f ...

County Sligo County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the local ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Llanos de Challe National Park Llanos de Challe National Park is located on the Pacific coast of the Atacama Region, Chile. The park's mountains are moistened by the Camanchaca, creating a fog and mist-fed ecosystem called lomas (Spanish for "hills."). The park is one of the s ...

is located northwest of the city of Vallenar.

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 ...

by 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 ...

, Vallenar had 48,040 inhabitants (23,284 men and 24,756 women). Of these, 43,750 (91.1%) 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, t ...

s and 4,290 (8.9%) 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 descri ...

s. The population grew by 1.7% (792 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, Vallenar 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 Cristian Tapia Ramos. 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 ...

, Vallenar 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 Mr. Alberto Robles ( PRSD) and Mr. Giovanni Calderón (

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 ...

) as part of the 6th electoral district, (together with

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 ...

, Tierra Amarilla,

Freirina Freirina is a Chilean commune and town in Huasco Province, Atacama Region. The commune spans an area of . Demographics According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute, Freirina had 5,666 inhabitants; of these, 3,469 (61.2%) liv ...

Huasco Huasco () is a Chilean city and commune, in the Huasco Province, Atacama Region. The port city of Huasco is located 50 km west of Vallenar and close to the town of ''Huasco Bajo'', which lies on the southern bank of the Huasco River and onl ...

and

Alto del Carmen Alto del Carmen is a Chilean Communes of Chile, commune and village in Huasco Province, Atacama Region. The commune spans an area of . Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute (Chile), National Statistics In ...

). 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 ...

Isabel Allende Bussi María Isabel Allende Bussi (, , ; born 18 January 1945) is a Chilean politician. A member of the Socialist Party and daughter of former president of Chile Salvador Allende and Hortensia Bussi, Allende served as a deputy from 1994 to 2010 and ...

( PS) and Baldo Prokurica Prokurica ( RN) as part of the 3rd senatorial constituency (Atacama Region).

Climate

Notable people

* Yasna Provoste *

Ricardo Francisco Rojas Ricardo Francisco Rojas Trujillo (born 7 May 1974) is a Chilean football manager and former player. A centre-back, he played for clubs like Universidad de Chile, América and Colo-Colo. Club career As a youth player, he was with Academia Sant ...

References

External links

*
Municipality of Vallenar
{{Authority control Capitals of Chilean provinces Communes of Chile Populated places in Huasco Province Atacama Desert Populated places established in 1789 1789 establishments in the Spanish Empire