María Elena 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 ...

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 ...

Tocopilla Province Tocopilla Province ( es, Provincia de Tocopilla) is one of the three provinces in the northern Chilean region of Antofagasta (II). Its capital is the city of Tocopilla. Geography and demography According to the 2012 census by the National Statist ...

Antofagasta Region The Antofagasta Region ( es, Región de Antofagasta, ) is one of Chile's sixteen first-order administrative divisions. The second-largest region of Chile in area, it comprises three provinces, Antofagasta, El Loa and Tocopilla. It is bordered t ...

. According to the 2012 census, the commune population was 4,593 and has an area of .

History

Maria Elena is named after Mary Ellen Comdon, the wife of the first

saltpeter Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . This alkali metal nitrate salt is also known as Indian saltpetre (large deposits of which were historically mined in India). It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitrat ...

refinery works (''oficina salitre'') manager, Elias Cappelens. Originally, the name of the works was "Coya Norte". Situated on land purchased from the Treasury in 1924, the plant was opened in 1926 using a

sodium nitrate Sodium nitrate is the chemical compound with the formula . This alkali metal nitrate salt is also known as Chile saltpeter (large deposits of which were historically mined in Chile) to distinguish it from ordinary saltpeter, potassium nitrate. T ...

extraction system patented by the Guggenheim Brothers which had replaced the Shanks system. It was laid out on the basis of the

flag of the United Kingdom The national flag of the United Kingdom is the Union Jack, also known as the Union Flag. The design of the Union Jack dates back to the Act of Union 1801 which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland (previously in pe ...

. Together with the former refinery at Pedro de Valdivia built in 1931, it was the largest saltpeter works with a combined output of over one million tons per year. In 1965 both were taken over by the state, through the ''

Sociedad Química y Minera Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (SQM) is a Chilean chemical company and a supplier of plant nutrients, iodine, lithium and industrial chemicals. It is the world’s biggest lithium producer. SQM's natural resources and its main production f ...

'' (SQM or "Chemicals and Mining Company", which was privatized in 1980. This privatization explains why most land and buildings are owned by SQM and not by individuals or the Chilean state. In 1996, it became the only active mining community in the country after the closure of the saltpeter works at Pedro de Valdivia, following which many workers and their families were relocated to Maria Elena. On November 14, 2007, the area was devastated by a 7.7 M_w

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

with an epicenter north of Maria Elena. Almost all the town's old houses collapsed or were made uninhabitable, and the local hospital also almost completely collapsed, though with no loss of life or injuries.

Demographics

According to the 1992

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 incl ...

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 ...

María Elena had 7,530 inhabitants; of these, 7,412 (98.4%) 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, t ...

s and 118 (1.6%) 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 descri ...

s. At that time, there were 4,298 men and 3,232 women. By 2002, the population had fallen 44.9% (124,130 persons) since the 1992 census of 13,660. The commune of María Elena is composed of six census districts. ''Source'': INE 2007 report, "Territorial division of Chile"

Administration

As a commune, María Elena 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, rural counci ...

, headed by 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 ...

who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Jorge Godoy Bolvarán ( PS), and the council has the following members: * Carlos Hidalgo Marfull * Nelson Avendaño Véliz * Jaqueline Godoy Soto * Jorge Ramirez Plaza * Carlos Ardiles Aceituno * Andrés Concha F. Within the

electoral divisions of Chile Chile has two distinct electoral division systems: * To elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Senate, Chile is divided into several electoral divisions, namely electoral districts and senatorial constituencies. * To elect members of ...

, María Elena 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 Bourbon R ...

by Marcos Espinosa ( PRSD) and Felipe Ward (

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 ...

) as part of the 3rd electoral district, (together with

Tocopilla Tocopilla is a city and commune in the Antofagasta Region, in the north of Chile. It is the capital of the province that bears the same name. Every year Tocopilla celebrates its anniversary on 29 September with a big show the day before, which ...

, Calama,

Ollagüe Ollagüe () or Ullawi () is a massive andesite stratovolcano in the Andes on the border between Bolivia and Chile, within the Antofagasta Region of Chile and the Potosi Department of Bolivia. Part of the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes, i ...

and

San Pedro de Atacama San Pedro de Atacama is a Chilean town and commune in El Loa Province, Antofagasta Region. It is located east of Antofagasta, some 106 km (60 mi) southeast of Calama and the Chuquicamata copper mine, overlooking the Licancabur volcano. ...

). 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 Carlos Cantero Ojeda ( Ind.) and José Antonio Gómez (PRSD) as part of the 2nd senatorial constituency (Antofagasta Region).

References

External links

*
Municipality of María Elena
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Elena Communes of Chile Populated places in Tocopilla Province Saltpeter works in Chile 1926 establishments in Chile br:María Elena

History

Demographics

Administration

See also

References

External links