Colchagua Province ( es, Provincia de Colchagua) is one of three

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of the central

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 ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

of O'Higgins (VI). Its capital is San Fernando. It is bordered on the north by Cachapoal Province, on the east by the

Argentine Republic Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, on the south by

Curicó Province Curicó Province ( es, Provincia de Curicó) is one of four provinces of the central Chilean region of Maule (VII). Its capital is the city of Curicó. It lies between the provinces of Colchagua and Talca and extends from the Pacific to the Ar ...

, and on the west by

Cardenal Caro Province Cardenal Caro Province ( es, Provincia Cardenal Caro) is one of the three provinces of the central Chilean region of O'Higgins (VI). The capital of Cardenal Caro is Pichilemu. Name The province is named after Cardinal José María Caro Rodríguez ...

Geography and demography

The area of Colchagua is officially estimated at with a population (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 in ...

) at 196,566. Extending across the central valley of Chile, the province has a considerable area devoted to traditional agriculture and wine-growing. Its principal rivers are the

Rapel River Rapel River is a river of Chile located in the O'Higgins Region. It begins at the confluence of the rivers Cachapoal and Tinguiririca in an area best known as ''La Junta''. At present day, this area is impounded by Rapel Dam, creating Rapel L ...

and its tributary, the Tinguiririca. The principal towns are San Fernando, the provincial capital, Santa Cruz, Chimbarongo, Nancagua and Palmilla. San Fernando is one of the several towns founded in 1742 by the governor-general José Antonio Manso de Velasco, and it had a population of 64,000 in 2002.

Administration

As a province, Colchagua is a second-level

administrative division Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

of Chile, governed by a provincial delegate who is appointed by the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

. The province comprises ten communes, each governed by a municipality consisting of an alcalde and

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 counc ...

. * Chépica * Chimbarongo * Lolol * Nancagua * Palmilla * Peralillo * Placilla * Pumanque * San Fernando * Santa Cruz

Transport

The state central railway (

EFE Agencia EFE, S.A. () is a Spanish international news agency, the major multimedia news agency in Spanish language and the world's fourth largest wire service after the Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse. EFE was created in 1939 ...

) from

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

to the south crosses the province and has a regular stop in San Fernando. It used to have a branch running from San Fernando via Palmilla to Pichilemu on the coast. This is now closed, although one section of it has recently opened a limited service aimed at the

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

trade. The more local '' Metrotrén'' service runs between Santiago and San Fernando stopping at most of the towns in between. There are frequent trains between these two points. The

Pan-American Highway The Pan-American Highway (french: (Auto)route panaméricaine/transaméricaine; pt, Rodovia/Auto-estrada Pan-americana; es, Autopista/Carretera/Ruta Panamericana) is a network of roads stretching across the Americas and measuring about in to ...

runs through the San Fernando commune, passing close to the east side of the town.

References

{{Authority control Provinces of Chile Provinces of O'Higgins Region

Geography and demography

Administration

Transport

See also

References