La Higuera is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and commune in Elqui Province, Coquimbo Region,

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. 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'', Vicugna, its former genus name) is one of the two wild South American camelids, which live in the high alpine tundra, alpine areas of the Andes; the other cameli ...

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, administered by the Corporación Nacional Forestal. On the island of Damas, the beach La Tijera is found at the extreme south. Las Campanas Observatory and La Silla Observatory 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, with the idea of providing energy to the power grid that may be more reliable than hydroelectric power 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 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 (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of the National Statistics Institute, 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 is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

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 are typically desc ...

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

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 The administrative division or territorial organization of Chile exemplifies characteristics of a unitary state. State administration is functionally and geographically decentralized, as appropriate for each authority in accordance with the law ...

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, borough cou ...

, headed by an

alcalde ''Alcalde'' (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and Administration (government), administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor (position), corregidor, the presiding officer o ...

who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Sylvia Clavería Mondaca. Within the

electoral divisions of Chile This article covers the electoral division of Chile, which involves two distinct systems: # Chamber of Deputies of Chile, Chamber of Deputies and Senate of Chile, Senate: Chile is divided into electoral districts and senatorial constituencies for ...

, La Higuera is represented in the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

by Mr. Mario Bertolino ( RN) and Marcelo Díaz ( PS) as part of the 7th electoral district, (together with La Serena

, Paiguano and Andacollo).

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