Río Negro (, English: ''Black River'') is a

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 ...

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 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 ...

Osorno Province Osorno Province ( es, Provincia de Osorno) is one of the four provinces in the southern Chilean region of Los Lagos (X). The province has an area of and a population of 221,496 distributed across seven communes ( Spanish: ''comunas''). The provi ...

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 ...

. The city is located 38 km south of Osorno and 6 km west of Route 5. It has an area of 1,266 km² and a population of 14,732 inhabitants (7,204 women and 7,528 men according to census 2002). The commune is bordered on the north by Osorno and

San Juan de la Costa San Juan de la Costa is a commune of Chile, located in the Osorno Province in the Los Lagos Region. The administration (municipalidad) is located at the hamlet of Puaucho, 34 km west of Osorno. San Juan de la Costa is known for its large po ...

, on the east by

Puerto Octay Puerto Octay is a town and commune in Osorno Province located on the north shore of Llanquihue Lake in Los Lagos Region in the south of Chile. It was settled by German colonists in 1852. Puerto Octay was an important port with regular traffic ...

, on the west by the Pacific Ocean, and on the south by

Purranque Purranque is a city in the Chilean Los Lagos Region, which lies on the Pan-American Highway about north of Puerto Montt. It is part of the Osorno Province. History The first ethnically identifiable inhabitants of the area were Huilliches, an ind ...

History

In the 19th century, the commune was a property located between Chahuilco and

called ''Curileufu'' by the

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 ...

. The town was founded on lands donated by Jose Miguel Alderete in the year 1896. The first alcalde (mayor) was Pedro González.

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 ...

, Río Negro spans an area of and has 14,732 inhabitants (7,528 men and 7,204 women). Of these, 6,583 (44.7%) 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 8,149 (55.3%) 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 fell by 8.1% (1294 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a

, Río Negro 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 Carlos Schwalm Urzúa ( RN). The council has the following members: * Carlos Kusch (

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 ...

) * Pedro Carreño ( PDC) * Jaime Ramos ( Ind.- PS) * Patricio Alvarado (Ind.- RN) * Juan Saldivia Quintullanca (Ind.- PRI) * Rosiel del Río (Ind.-UDI) Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Río Negro is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Fidel Espinoza (PS) and Carlos Recondo (UDI) as part of the 56th electoral district, together with Puyehue,

, Fresia,

Frutillar Frutillar is a city and commune located in southern Chile, Chilean Patagonia, in Llanquihue Province, within the Los Lagos Region, the lake district. The bay of Frutillar is placed on the banks of Lake Llanquihue, the largest lake entirely within ...

, Llanquihue,

Puerto Varas Puerto Varas, also known as "La ciudad de las rosas" or “the city of roses”, is a city and commune located in the southern Chilean province of Llanquihue, in the Los Lagos Region. The city is famous for its German traditions, its natural env ...

and

Los Muermos Los Muermos is a city and commune in Llanquihue Province, Los Lagos Region in southern Chile. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Los Muermos spans an area of and has 16,964 inhabitants (8,939 men and 8 ...

. The commune is represented in the Senate by Camilo Escalona Medina (PS) and Carlos Kuschel Silva (RN) as part of the 17th senatorial constituency (Los Lagos Region).

Localities and sectors

* Riachuelo *Chifin *Huellelhue Beach * Huilma *Millantué *Chan-Chan *Chahuilco *Ñancuan *Tres Esteros *Río Blanco *El Bolsón

Climate

The climate is

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, ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

: Cfb), with average temperatures of 11.4 °C.

References

External links

*
Municipality of Rio Negro
*
Austral Newspaper of Osorno
*
Visiones de Rio Negro Magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rio Negro, Chile Communes of Chile Populated places established in 1896 Populated places in Osorno Province 1896 establishments in Chile