Chiloé Island ( es, Isla de Chiloé, , ) also known as Greater Island of Chiloé (''Isla Grande de Chiloé''), is the largest island of the

Chiloé Archipelago The Chiloé Archipelago ( es, Archipiélago de Chiloé, , ) is a group of islands lying off the coast of Chile, in the Los Lagos Region. It is separated from mainland Chile by the Chacao Channel in the north, the Sea of Chiloé in the east and t ...

off the west coast 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 ...

, in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

. The island is located in southern Chile, in the

Los Lagos Region Los Lagos Region ( es, Región de Los Lagos , ''Region of the Lakes'') is one of Chile's 16 regions, which are first order administrative divisions, and comprises four provinces: Chiloé, Llanquihue, Osorno and Palena. The region contains ...

. Of roughly rectangular shape, the southwestern half of the island is a wilderness of contiguous forests and swamps. Mountains in the island form a belt running from the northwestern to the southeastern corner of the island. Cordillera del Piuchén make up the northern mountains and the more subdued Cordillera de Pirulil gathers the southern mountains. The landscape of the northeastern sectors of Chiloé Island is dominated by rolling hills with a mosaic of pastures, forests and cultivated fields. While the western shores are rocky and relatively straight, the eastern and northern shores contain many inlets, bays and peninsulas, and it is here where all towns and cities lie. Geographically, the bulk of the island is a continuation of the Chilean Coast Range, with the sea of Chiloé being a submerged portion of the Chilean Central Valley. The climate is cool

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...

oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places * Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...

with Mediterranean precipitation pattern.

Geography

With an area of , Chiloé Island is the second largest island in Chile (after the

Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego (English: ''Big Island of the Land of Fire'') also formerly ''Isla de Xátiva''Chacao Strait (''Canal Chacao'') to the north, and by the Gulf of Ancud (''Golfo de Ancud'') and the Gulf of Corcovado (''Golfo Corcovado'') to the east; the Pacific Ocean lies to the west, and the

Chonos Archipelago The Chonos Archipelago is a series of low, mountainous, elongated islands with deep bays, traces of a submerged Chilean Coast Range. Most of the islands are forested with little or no human settlement. The deep Moraleda Channel separates the isl ...

lies to the south, across the Boca del Guafo. The island is from north to south, and averages wide. The capital is Castro, on the east side of the island; the second largest town is

Ancud Ancud () is a city in southern Chile located in the northernmost part of the island and province of Chiloé, in Los Lagos Region. It is the second largest city of Chiloé Archipelago after Castro. The city was established in 1768 to function as ...

, at the island's northwest corner, and there are several smaller port towns on the east side of the island, such as Quellón, Dalcahue and Chonchi. Chiloé Island and the Chonos Archipelago are a southern extension of the Chilean coastal range at Chilean Patagonia, which runs north and south, parallel to the Pacific coast and the Andes Mountains. The Chilean Central Valley lies between the coastal mountains and the Andes, of which the Gulfs of Ancud and Corcovado form the southern extension. Mountains run north and south along the spine of the island. The east coast is deeply indented, with several natural harbors and numerous smaller islands.

Climate

Chiloé runs from 41º47′S to 43º26′S, and has a humid, cool

temperate climate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...

. The western side of the island is rainy and wild, home to the Valdivian temperate rain forests, one of the world's few temperate rain forests. Chiloé National Park (''Parque Nacional de Chiloé'') is located on the island's western shore and Tantauco Park (''Parque Tantauco''), a private natural reserve created and owned by Chilean business magnate and former

President of Chile The president of Chile ( es, Presidente de Chile), officially known as the President of the Republic of Chile ( es, Presidente de la República de Chile), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Chile. The president is r ...

Sebastián Piñera Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique OMCh (; born 1 December 1949) is a Chilean billionaire businessman and politician who served as president of Chile from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022. The son of a Christian Democratic polit ...

, is located on the island's southern shore. Both include parts of the coastal range. The eastern shore, in the rain shadow of the interior mountains, is warmer and drier.

Alfaguara project

The northwestern of Chiloé Island in Chiloé National Park has a great diversity of marine fauna, including

blue whale The blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') is a marine mammal and a baleen whale. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of and weighing up to , it is the largest animal known to have ever existed. The blue whale's long and slender body can ...

, sei whale,

Chilean dolphin The Chilean dolphin (''Cephalorhynchus eutropia''), also known as the black dolphin, is one of four dolphins in the genus ''Cephalorhynchus''. The dolphin is found only off the coast of Chile; it is commonly referred to in the country as ''ton ...

s and Peale's dolphins;

sea lions Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...

marine otter The marine otter (''Lontra felina'') is a rare and relatively unknown South American mammal of the weasel family ( Mustelidae). The scientific name means "otter cat", and in Spanish, the marine otter is also often referred to as : "marine c ...

s, and

Magellanic penguin The Magellanic penguin (''Spheniscus magellanicus'') is a South American penguin, breeding in coastal Patagonia, including Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands, with some migrating to Brazil and Uruguay, where they are occasionally seen a ...

and

Humboldt penguin The Humboldt penguin (''Spheniscus humboldti'') is a medium-sized penguin. It resides in South America, its range mainly contains most of coastal Peru. Its nearest relatives are the African penguin, the Magellanic penguin and the Galápagos pen ...

s. Nevertheless, this relatively undisturbed area faces different threats, like urban development, habitat degradation, land and marine pollution. The Alfaguara project (

project), conducted by the Cetacean Conservation Center, is based at Puñihuil on the northwest coast. The project combines long-term research, educational and capacity building programs for marine conservation combined with the sustainable development of the local communities. The Islotes de Puñihuil Natural Monument is a group of three islets to the west and north of Puñihuil. The monument is the only known shared breeding site for Humboldt and Magellanic penguins. It is also a breeding area for other species, such as the red-legged cormorant and

kelp gull The kelp gull (''Larus dominicanus''), also known as the Dominican gull, is a gull that breeds on coasts and islands through much of the Southern Hemisphere. The nominate ''L. d. dominicanus'' is the subspecies found around South America, part ...

History

Chiloé has been described by Renato Cárdenas, historian at the Chilean National Library, as “a distinct enclave, linked more to the sea than the continent, a fragile society with a strong sense of solidarity and a deep territorial attachment.”Larry Rohter
For some on island, a planned project is a bridge too near.
NY Times. August 3, 2006. Retrieved 19 January 2013. Conchal-Køkkenmødding-Nercón

Chiloé's history began with the arrival of its first human inhabitants more than 7,000 years ago. Spread along the coast of Chiloé are a number of middens - ancient dumps for domestic waste, containing mollusc shells, stone tools and bonfire remains. All of these remains indicate the presence of nomadic groups dedicated to the collection of marine creatures (

clam Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve molluscs. The word is often applied only to those that are edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the seafloor or riverbeds. Clams have two shel ...

mussels Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which ...

and '' Choromytilus chorus'', among others) and to hunting and fishing. Dalca (reconstrucción)

When the Spanish conquistadores arrived on Chiloé Island in the 16th Century, the island was inhabited by the Chono,

Huilliche The Huilliche , Huiliche or Huilliche-Mapuche are the southern partiality of the Mapuche macroethnic group of Chile. Located in the Zona Sur, they inhabit both Futahuillimapu ("great land of the south") and, as the Cunco subgroup, the north hal ...

and Cunco peoples. The original peoples navigated the treacherous waters of the Chiloé Archipelago in boats called ''dalcas'' with skill that impressed the Spaniards.Breve Historia de Chiloé
Mav.cl (Museo de Arte Visual: Visual Arts Museum). Retrieved 14 January 2013. The first Spaniard to sight the coast of Chiloé was the explorer in 1540, as he was travelling to

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

.Ramón Gutiérrez
Las misiones circulares de los jesuitas en Chiloé. Apuntes para una historia singular de la evangelización
Apuntes Vol.20, No.1: 50-61. However, in an expedition ordered by

Pedro de Valdivia Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia or Valdiva (; April 17, 1497 – December 25, 1553) was a Spanish conquistador and the first royal governor of Chile. After serving with the Spanish army in Italy and Flanders, he was sent to South America in 1534, wh ...

, captain

Francisco de Ulloa Francisco de Ulloa () (died 1540) was a Spanish explorer who explored the west coast of present-day Mexico and the Baja California Peninsula under the commission of Hernán Cortés. Ulloa's voyage was among the first to disprove the cartograph ...

reached the Chacao Channel in 1553 and explored the islands forming the archipelago, and is thus considered the first European ''discoverer'' of Chiloé. In 1558, Spanish soldier García Hurtado de Mendoza began an expedition which would culminate in the Chiloé archipelago being claimed for the Spanish crown. The city of Castro was founded in 1567.Rodrigo A. Moreno J. Chiloé Archipelago and the Jesuits: The geographic environment of the mission in the XVII and XVIII centuries
ISSN 0718-2244
in Spanish. MAGALLANIA (Chile), 2011. Vol. 39(2):47-55. The island was originally called New Galicia by the Spanish discoverers, but this name did not stick and the name Chiloé, meaning “place of

seagulls Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, ...

” in the Huilliche language, was given to the island.

Jesuit missionaries , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

to Chiloé Island, charged with the evangelization of the local population arrived on Chiloé at the turn of the 17th Century and built a number of chapels throughout the archipelago. By 1767 there were already 79 and today more than 150 wooden churches built in traditional style can be found on the islands, many of these declared

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

s by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. Following the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767, the

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

s assumed responsibility for the religious mission to Chiloé from 1771. Chiloé only became part of the Chilean republic in 1826, eight years after

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

and following the two failed campaigns for independence in 1820 and 1824. From 1843, a large number of Chilotes (as inhabitants of the island are called) migrated to

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...

in search of work, mainly in

Punta Arenas Punta Arenas (; historically Sandy Point in English) is the capital city of Chile's southernmost region, Magallanes and Antarctica Chilena. The city was officially renamed as Magallanes in 1927, but in 1938 it was changed back to "Punta Are ...

, but as living and working conditions in Chiloé improved in the following century this migration began gradually to decrease. Chiloe Church

In the 19th century, Chiloé was a center for foreign whalers, particularly French whalers. From the middle of the 19th century and until the beginning of the 20th century, Chiloé was the main producer of

railroad tie A railroad tie, crosstie (American English), railway tie ( Canadian English) or railway sleeper ( Australian and British English) is a rectangular support for the rails in railroad tracks. Generally laid perpendicular to the rails, ties tran ...

s for the whole continent. From this point on, new towns dedicated to this industry were formed, including Quellón, Dalcahue, Chonchi and Quemchi were established. From 1895, lands were given to European settlers and also to large manufacturing industries. With the rise of farming, inland areas of Chiloé Island began to be occupied; previously only the coastline had been inhabited. With the construction of the railroad between

and Castro in 1912, the occupation of inland zones was completed. This

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

is no longer in service. On December 10, 2021, a wildfire spread across Chiloe, including the city of Castro, to burning houses, churches and schools, causing many residents to evacuate..

Access

In late 2012, LAN Airlines became the first airline to offer flights to Chiloé Island, inaugurating a regular service between Puerto Montt and the airport of Mocopulli, Dalcahue. Previously the only means of access to Chiloé island was via a ferry service across the Chacao Channel. In 2013, a small

airstrip An aerodrome ( Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for pub ...

was opened at the south tip of the island, allowing local flight access to the remote village of Inío. A project to build a bridge from Chiloé Island to the mainland of Chile was initially proposed in 1972 and was eventually launched under the government of

Ricardo Lagos Ricardo Froilán Lagos Escobar (; born 2 March 1938) is a Chilean lawyer, economist and social-democratic politician who served as president of Chile from 2000 to 2006. During the 1980s he was a well-known opponent of the Chilean military dic ...

(2000-2006) who launched the project as part of works to celebrate the Bicentennial of Chile. In 2006, however, the

Chacao Channel bridge The Chacao Channel bridge, also known as Chiloé Bicentennial Bridge, is a bridge currently under construction to link the island of Chiloé with mainland Chile crossing the Chacao Channel. It was one of the several projects that were planned ...

project was cancelled by the Ministry of Public Works after concerns about its total cost, which was estimated to be higher than the initial budget for the project. In May 2012, President

again revived the project, announcing an international bidding process would be opened to present the best solution for the construction of the bridge, with a US$740 million investment limit.

References

External links

Mythology of Chiloé

The churches of Chiloe at Unesco world heritage siteDicen Que Los Chilotes... (Music of Chiloé)Visited by Charles Darwin: Voyage of the Beagle, Ch 13-14Images of Chiloé
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chiloe Island Islands of Chiloé Archipelago Ecoregions of Chile