San Antonio is a Chilean port city, commune, and the capital of the San Antonio Province in the

Valparaíso Region The Valparaíso Region (, ) is one of Chile's 16 Regions of Chile, first order administrative divisions.Valparaíso Region, 2006 With the country's second-highest population of 1,790,219 , and fourth-smallest area of , the region is Chile's sec ...

. It has become the main freight port in Chile, surpassing

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

in the 21st century. San Antonio is also the hub of the fishing area that stretches along the Chilean coast from Rocas de Santo Domingo to Cartagena.

Geography

The city is situated on hills and coastal dunes, to the north of the

Maipo River The Maipo River is the main river flowing through the Santiago Metropolitan Region and the Valparaíso Region of Chile. It is located just south of the capital of Santiago. The Mapocho River, which flows through central Santiago, is one of its tri ...

's mouth, and is divided by two estuaries: Arévalo to the north and El Sauce in the Llolleo section. It is located at 33°35′S and 71°37′W and borders Cartagena to the north,

Melipilla Melipilla (Mapudungun for "four Pillans") is a Chilean Communes of Chile, commune and Capital (political), capital List of cities in Chile, city of the Melipilla Province, province of the same name. It is part of the Santiago Metropolitan Region ...

and the Maipo River to the east,

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

and San Pedro to the south, and the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

to the west. It covers an area of 502.5 km2 (194 sq mi).

Climate

San Antonio has a

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 ...

(

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 ...

''Csb'') with coastal influences and an average annual temperature of . In January, the average temperature is , while in July, it is . The city receives an annual precipitation of , with most of it concentrated in June, which averages .

History

Nomadic hunters and gatherers were the first inhabitants of Chilean territory. In this central coastal zone are evidences of ancient habitation extending back about thirteen thousand years. The city was 80% destroyed by the 1985 Santiago earthquake. The San Antonio port was shut down by the 27 February 2010 earthquake, but had resumed operation at 80% capacity by 3 March 2010. After the quake, only 5 of the 8 docking points at the port resumed operation.

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, San Antonio spans an area of and has 87,205 inhabitants (42,843 men and 44,362 women). Of these, 83,435 (95.7%) 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 3,770 (4.3%) 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 are typically desc ...

s. The population grew by 11.6% (9,047 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, San Antonio 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 communal council, 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 Omar Vera Castro, who is advised by six councilors: * Pedro Piña Mateluna ( PC) * Ramón Silva Suazo ( PDC) * Danilo Rojas Barahona ( RN) * Fernando Núñez Michellod ( PS) * Jose Martinez Fuentes ( Ind., Concert of Parties for Democracy) * Omar Morales Márquez ( PRSD) 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 ...

, San Antonio 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 María José Hoffmann ( UDI) and Víctor Torres ( PDC) as part of the 15th electoral district, (together with

, Cartagena, El Tabo,

El Quisco El Quisco is a Chilean city and commune in San Antonio Province, Valparaíso Region. Located in the country's central coast, it serves as a popular summer resort for the population of Santiago and forms part of the Coast of Poets, a cultural sp ...

, Algarrobo and

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

). 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 Francisco Chahuán Chahuán ( RN) and Ricardo Lagos Weber ( PPD) as part of the 6th senatorial constituency (Valparaíso-Coast).

Tourism

The zone will give way to a tourist route that will have

cuisine A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, List of cooking techniques, techniques and Dish (food), dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, ...

, with the emerging cuisine being based on

shellfish Shellfish, in colloquial and fisheries usage, are exoskeleton-bearing Aquatic animal, aquatic invertebrates used as Human food, food, including various species of Mollusca, molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish ...

and

oenology Oenology (also enology; ) is the science and study of wine and winemaking. Oenology is distinct from viticulture, which is the science of the growing, cultivation, and harvesting of grapes. The English word oenology derives from the Greek word ' ...

. This initiative is supported by a program called The Seaboard Program of the Poets supported by

CORFO The Production Development Corporation (CORFO, from ) is a Chilean governmental organization that was founded in 1939 by President Pedro Aguirre Cerda to promote economic growth in Chile. Originally, CORFO was responsible for the creation of ...

, or in Spanish "el programa litoral de los Poetas de la CORFO." The new route explains that it will unite the circuit to the local productions, chefs and wine vineyards, like the vineyards of Matetic, Casa Marín, Amayna, Lo Abarca, and Malvilla. Also, with the support from the Program of Tourism and Interests by CORFO, in the last year, wine growers, food industries, and tourism have initiated a process of trainings and associations under the concept of a good cuisine being the local identity.

Tourist Attractions

On the seaside of the city of San Antonio there is a walk called " el Paseo Bellamar" (the beautiful sea walk), a mall called “Mall Arauco San Antonio", and a casino called " el Casino del Pacífico" (the casino of the Pacific), where you can see the merchant ships, and the activities of fishermen and the port workers. From here and in the cove called "la caleta Pintor Pacheco Altamarino" (the cove of the painter Pacheco Altamarino), tours are offered in boats through the bay of the port and in the San Antonio fishing market fish and shellfish are sold. There is also a national monument called " Grúa 82" where it is possible to observe seals in the rock piles of the sector. Another attraction is the Municipal Museum of Natural Sciences and Archaeology of San Antonio, with its collections principally dedicated to the natives that lived in the zone of the central sea of Chile, and the wildlife in the area. This museum contains huge skeletons of sea mammals, among those is the

blue whale The blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') is a marine mammal and a baleen whale. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of and weighing up to , it is the largest animal known ever to have existed. The blue whale's long and slender body can ...

, a garden with natural species, aquariums, and the rescue and rehabilitation center of wild fauna. Another important attraction is the panoramic viewpoint on the hill of Cristo del Maipo (Christ of Maipo), the hill of Centinela, and the viewpoint of 21 May. In the sector of Llolleo, you can find the parade ground, also known as "La Plaza del Folclor" (The Plaza of Folklore), and the hill viewpoint of "Cristo del Maipo" (Christ of Maipo). The handcrafting town of Lo Gallardo, is also an important attraction; the river Maipo, with an impressive river mouth that starts at fisherman's cove; the Leyda reservoir with abundant aquatic birds; and the small village of Cuncumén, a typical Chilean country town on the side of the Maipo river.

References

External links

{{Authority control Populated places in San Antonio Province Populated coastal places in Chile Communes of Chile Port cities in Chile Capitals of Chilean provinces Coasts of Valparaíso Region