Los Ángeles () is the capital of the province of Bío Bío, in the commune of the same name, in Bío Bío, in the center-south of

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 located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 186,671 inhabitants (

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 ...

2012). The municipality ("comuna") of Los Ángeles has the highest absolute rural population of any Chilean municipality. To the north of the city is Salto del Laja ( Laja Falls), and roughly 100 kilometers to the east is the high Antuco volcano, in the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

mountain range. The city is a gateway for tourists visiting the nearby Laguna del Laja National Park, the location of the volcano. Los Ángeles is served by María Dolores Airport.

History

Founded as Nuestra Señora de Los Ángeles (Our Lady of the Angels) in 1739 by José Antonio Manso de Velasco, it was originally a Spanish fort as an outpost in the War of Arauco. It received the title of ''villa'' in 1748. The city underwent numerous rebuildings, due to the Spanish military campaigns against the native

Mapuche The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...

in their efforts to colonize the area. Its geographic location, just to the north of the Biobío river (the border established by the Spaniards), made it a strategic location. In 1858, during the process of German immigration in Chile, Colonia Humán was founded, a town colonized by German settlers from Germany and Austro-Hungarian Empire and which was completely conurbated within the current urban limits of the city.

Demographics

According to the 2002

of the National Statistics Institute, Los Ángeles spans an area of and has 166,556 inhabitants (81,863 men and 84,693 women). Of these, 123,445 (74.1%) 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 43,111 (25.9%) 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 18.5% (26,021 people) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses. Within the communities of historical immigrants of the city of foreign origin, the Spanish,

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

, and

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

stand out, depending on their number and contributions, from the colonized localities by Europeans in the area, especially from Araucanía.

Climate

This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Los Ángeles has a

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps. Most of the annual precipitation of 42 inches (1070 mm) falls during the autumn and winter months of April through September. May is the wettest month, with 10 inches (250 mm) of precipitation on average. Snow is uncommon, and when it falls melts quickly.

Administration

As a commune, Los Ángeles 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 Joel Rosales Guzmán ( UDI). 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 ...

, Los Ángeles 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 Juan Lobos (UDI) and José Pérez ( PRSD) as part of the 47th electoral district, together with Tucapel, Antuco, Quilleco, Santa Bárbara, Quilaco, Mulchén, Negrete, Nacimiento, San Rosendo, Laja and Alto Bío Bío. The commune is represented in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

by Victor Pérez Varela (UDI) and Mariano Ruiz-Esquide Jara ( PDC) as part of the 13th senatorial constituency (Biobío-Coast).

Education

International schools * Deutsche Schule Los Angeles

References

External links

*
Municipality of Los Ángeles
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Los Angeles Communes of Chile Capitals of Chilean provinces Populated places established in 1739 Populated places in Bío Bío Province 1739 establishments in the Spanish Empire