La Higuera is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

and

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

Elqui Province Elqui Province ( es, Provincia de Elqui) is a province in the Chilean region of Coquimbo (IV). The provincial capital is the city of Coquimbo. Geography and demography According to the 2012 census by the National Statistics Institute (''INE''), ...

Coquimbo Region The Coquimbo Region ( es, Región de Coquimbo, ) is one of Chile's 16 regions (first order administrative divisions). It is bordered by Atacama to the north, Valparaíso to the south, Argentina to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

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 bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the east by the Atacama Region, and the south by the communes of

Vicuña The vicuña (''Lama vicugna'') or vicuna (both , very rarely spelled ''vicugna'', its former genus name) is one of the two wild South American camelids, which live in the high alpine areas of the Andes, the other being the guanaco, which live ...

and La Serena. Punta de Choros is famous for its beaches and a colony of bottlenose dolphins, the southernmost colony of that species. Of the total commune population, 1,080 live in urban zones and 2,641 live in rural zones. The islands of Choros and Damas are also part of the commune, which form the National Reserve of the

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 ...

, administered by the

Corporación Nacional Forestal The National Forest Corporation or CONAF (Corporación Nacional Forestal) is a Chilean private, non-profit organization, through which the Chilean state contributes to the development and sustainable management of the country's forest resources. C ...

. On the island of Damas, the beach La Tijera is found at the extreme south.

Las Campanas Observatory Las Campanas Observatory (LCO) is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the Carnegie Institution for Science (CIS). It is in the southern Atacama Desert of Chile in the Atacama Region approximately northeast of the city of La Serena. ...

and

La Silla Observatory La Silla Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Chile with three telescopes built and operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). Several other telescopes are located at the site and are partly maintained by ESO. The observatory is ...

are also found in the territory of the commune.

History

The territory of La Higuera was well known historically for its mineral resources, and was greatly developed between 1855 and 1880. This encouraged immigration to the area, though when it got exhausted, many of them left. Today the slag piles visible in the northern part of the town of La Higuera are a reminder of this bygone era. There exist projects to install in the commune territory a modern

thermal power station A thermal power station is a type of power station in which heat energy is converted to electrical energy. In a steam-generating cycle heat is used to boil water in a large pressure vessel to produce high-pressure steam, which drives a stea ...

, with the idea of providing energy to the power grid that may be more reliable than

hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

in times of drought. Despite the economic stimulus this would provide the commune, there are sectors of the population that oppose such an initiative due to the eventual environmental damage that it would cause. Another problem that has affected the commune is the scarcity of potable water, due to various factors, which has led to public complaints to the municipal as well as regional government. A

fog collection upright=1.3, ''Atrapanieblas'' or fog collection in Alto Patache, Atacama Desert, Chile">Atacama_Desert.html" ;"title="Alto Patache, Atacama Desert">Alto Patache, Atacama Desert, Chile Fog collection is the harvesting of water from fog using ...

project installed on El Tofo mountain in the 1990s to supply the village of Chugungo had fallen into disrepair as of 2002, and water was delivered to the village by truck, despite requests for construction of a water pipeline.

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 in ...

of 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 ...

, La Higuera had 3,721 inhabitants (2,084 men and 1,637 women). Of these, 1,080 (29%) 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 ...

s and 2,641 (71%) 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 descr ...

s. The population grew by 6.4% (223 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses. The population of the commune is dispersed between a number of villages located throughout the commune. The predominant ones are

Caleta Los Hornos Caleta may refer to: People *Duje Ćaleta-Car (born 1996), Croatian professional footballer Places * Caleta Chaihuín, a coastal hamlet in Corral, Chile * Caleta Córdoba, a small village in Chubut, Argentina * Caleta Olivia, a coastal city in A ...

, Chungungo, La Higuera (communal capital), El Trapiche, Punta Colorada, Los Choros and Punta de Choros. 2019 Total Solar Eclipse from La Higuera Chile

On July 2, 2019 the town was in the path of the 2019 Total Solar Eclipse, see photo.

Administration

As a commune, La Higuera is a third-level administrative division of Chile 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 counc ...

, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Sylvia Clavería Mondaca. Within the electoral divisions of Chile, La Higuera is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Mr. Mario Bertolino ( RN) and Marcelo Díaz ( PS) as part of the 7th electoral district, (together with La Serena

, Paiguano and

Andacollo Andacollo () is a city and commune in the Elqui Province, Coquimbo Region, Chile. History Andacollo is a copper and gold mining city located in the mountains of the Small North (El Norte Chico) in Chile. It was founded in 1891. Several legend ...

References

External links

Panoramas of the islands of Choros, Damas, and Coquimbo (requires QuickTimePlayer)
{{Authority control Communes of Chile Populated places in Elqui Province 1855 establishments in Chile