Curicó Province ( es, Provincia de Curicó) is one of four

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 outsi ...

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 and t ...

of Maule (VII). Its capital is the city of

Curicó Curicó (), meaning "Black Waters" in Mapudungun (originally meaning "Land of Black Water"), is the capital city of the Curicó Province, part of the Maule Region in Chile's central valley. The province lies between the provinces of Colchagu ...

. It lies between the provinces of Colchagua and

Talca Talca () is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune in Chile located about south of Santiago, Chile, Santiago, and is the capital of both Talca Province and Maule Region (7th Region of Chile). As of the 2012 census, the ...

and extends from the Pacific to the

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

frontier, spanning an area of . According to the 2002 census, the population was 244,053.

Administration

As a province, Curicó 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 ful ...

Communes

The province is composed of nine

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...

, each governed by a municipality consisting of 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 ...

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 counci ...

. *

Hualañé Hualañé () is a town and commune of the Curicó Province in Chile's seven region of Maule. Situated in the Mataquito River valley, its main activities are the agriculture of tomatoes, potatoes, and grapes for wine. The commune spans an area of ...

Licantén Licantén is a town within the Licantén commune, administered by the Municipality of Licantén within the Curicó Province in the Maule Region of Chile. The commune also include the coastal town of Iloca. Demographics According to the 2002 cens ...

* Molina *

Rauco Rauco is a Chilean town and commune in Curicó Province, Maule Region. It is a mostly rural commune (60% of its population is rural), located 10 km away from the city of Curicó. The commune spans an area of . In mapudungún, Rauco means "t ...

Romeral Romeral is a Chilean town and commune in Curicó Province, Maule Region. The commune spans and area of . Demographics According to the 2002 census of Population and Housing by the National Statistics Institute, the Romeral commune had 12,707 in ...

Sagrada Familia Sagrada is a Spanish word meaning "sacred Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. T ...

Teno ''Technische Nothilfe'' (abbreviated as TN, T.N, T.H, Tech Nh, TeNo, TENO; ) was a German organisation. It began as a strikebreaker organisation after the First World War, but developed into a volunteer emergency response unit. During the Naz ...

Vichuquén Vichuquén is a commune in the Curicó Province of Chile's Maule Region. History The Spanish arrived along the Lico rivers in 1585, where settlements of the Mapuche and Inca already existed. In 1865, Vichuquén founded its capital of the villa ...

History

The region is named for the Curis, one of the tribes of

Picunche The Picunche (a Mapudungun word meaning "North People"), also referred to as ''picones'' by the Spanish, were a Mapudungun-speaking people living to the north of the Mapuches or Araucanians (a name given to those Mapuche living between the Itata an ...

Promaucaes Promaucae, also spelled as ''Promaucas'' or ''Purumaucas'' (from Quechua ''purum awqa'': wild enemy), were an indigenous pre-Columbian Mapuche tribal group that lived in the present territory of Chile, south of the Maipo River basin of Santiago, Ch ...

settled along the rivers of the central valley flowing into the Mataquito River, around the modern city of

. Others tribes were the Tenu along the

Teno River The Teno River is a river located in the Maule Region of central Chile. It begins at the confluence of the ''Malo'' and '' Nacimiento'' rivers. The former originates north of Planchón volcano at Lagunas de Teno. The river flows initially nor ...

(the modern

and

communes) to the north. To the south were the Gualemo along the

Lontué River The Lontué River is a river in the province of Curicó in Chile. It originates about 50 km east of Curicó, at the confluence of the Colorado River and the Los Patos River. Both rivers have their origin next to the volcanos Descabezado C ...

the modern Molina commune. Along the Mataquito were the tribes centered on the modern towns of Palquibudi in

commune, La Huerta in

commune and

Lora Lora is a female given name and family name in the Spanish language of French origin meaning from Lorraine, a region in Northeastern France. As a given name, Lora may also be a variant of Laura or derived from an Italian hypocoristic of either E ...

commune. On the coast north of the river, the

in the commune of the same name. The province was created in 1865. Formerly it was part of the Colchagua Province. In 1974, because of a regionalisation process in Chile during the Augusto Pinochet regime executed by CONARA (''Comisión Nacional de Reforma Administrativa'' in Spanish, National Commission of Administrative Reform in English), the province was reshaped, taking place in the recently created Maule Region.

Geography and ecology

The eastern and western sections of Curicó Province are mountainous, and are separated by the fertile valley of central Chile. The provincial capital is

, on the

Mataquito River Mataquito is a river located in the Province of Curicó, Maule Region of Chile and formed by the union of rivers Teno and Lontué about 10 kilometers west of Curicó near the locality of Sagrada Familia and empties into the Pacific Ocean south o ...

, 194 km south of

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, whose ...

. In some of the mountainous areas of the province is found the

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

Chilean Wine Palm ''Jubaea'' is a genus of palms with one species, ''Jubaea chilensis'' or ''Jubaea spectabilis'', commonly known in English as the Chilean wine palm or Chile cocopalm, and palma chilena in Spanish. It is native to southwestern South America and i ...

, ''

Jubaea chilensis ''Jubaea'' is a genus of palms with one species, ''Jubaea chilensis'' or ''Jubaea spectabilis'', commonly known in English as the Chilean wine palm or Chile cocopalm, and palma chilena in Spanish. It is native to southwestern South America and i ...

'', whose southern range is generally defined by the northern

Maule Region The Maule Region ( es, Región del Maule, ) is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. Its capital is Talca. The region derives its name from the Maule River which, running westward from the Andes, bisects the region and spans a ...

, e.g. Curicó Province; historically, this

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Chilean palm had a much wider distribution.

Demography

According to the 2002 census 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 ...

(''INE''), the province spans an area of and had a population of 244,053 inhabitants (122,835 men and 121,218 women), giving it a population density of . Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 10.6% (23,396 persons).

Curicó Valley wine region

Curicó Valley is a wine-producing region in Chile's Central Valley and a

Denomination of Origin Denomination may refer to: * Religious denomination, such as a: ** Christian denomination ** Jewish denomination ** Islamic denomination ** Hindu denominations ** Buddhist denomination * Denomination (currency) * Denomination (postage stamp) ...

(DO) as defined by the Chilean

Appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...

system, the legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown. This area is located 200 km (124 miles) south of

’s capital city, at 35°S, a similar latitude to the southern tip of Spain. It is divided in two sub-regions: the

valley in the north and Lontue in the south. Wine production in this area is known for the variety of grapes, reliability and good value

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebanon' ...

and

Sauvignon Blanc is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in ...

. Although European vines have been growing in the Curicó area since the mid-1800s, the modern wine production in Curicó began in the late 1970s when Spanish wine maker Miguel Torres decided to explore the capabilities of this area, bringing new technologies such as stainless steel tanks that are now very common in Chilean wine industry. Torres’ endeavour encouraged foreign investment which led to increased plantings and exploration of suitable grape varieties for the area. Today Curicó Valley is today one of the most productive wine regions in Chile. The valley's climate is varied. The eastern part near 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 ...

is cooler than the western side due to the breezes coming down from the mountains, and most of the biggest producers are located in this area of Curicó and in Molina. At the western end, the coastal range protects the valley from the ocean influence. Curicó Valley is planted with more grape varieties than anywhere else in

, but the dominant varieties are

and

. Curicó may have yet to produce a Cabernet Sauvignon to rival Maipo's red wines and its Sauvignon Blanc still does not match the fresh, complex style found in Casablanca, but the valley is one of Chile's workhorse regions and its output is consistent and reliable.

Grape distribution by variety

* Climate: Mediterranean climate. 650mm/27.4 in of rain per year.. * Soils: clay, sand, decomposed granite. * Primary grapes: Cabernet,

Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse B ...

Carménère The Carménère grape is a wine grape variety originally planted in the Médoc region of Bordeaux, France, where it was used to produce deep red wines and occasionally used for blending purposes in the same manner as Petit Verdot. A member of t ...

. * Total hectares planted: 1484 ha (3667 acres).Curicó Valley distribution chart
www.winesofchile.org retrieved October 10, 2013

References

Sources

Thomas Guevara, Historia de Curicó, Alicante : Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, 2000
Originally published in 1891. * C. Michael Hogan (2008
''Chilean Wine Palm: Jubaea chilensis'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg

External links

* (''Gobernación de Curicó'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Curico Province Provinces of Maule Region Provinces of Chile