Vallenar is 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 ...

in Atacama Region,

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 ...

. It is the capital of the

Huasco Province Huasco Province (, es, Provincia de Huasco) is one of three provinces of the northern Chilean region of Atacama (III). Vallenar is the capital city. Geography and demography According to the 2012 census by the National Statistics Institute, the ...

and is located in the valley of the

Huasco River Huasco River is a river of Chile located in the Huasco Province, Atacama Region. Its headwaters in the upper catchments in high-altitude Andes glaciers are the Estrecho River, a tributary of El Tránsito River (catchment area 4,135 km2), and Pot ...

. Vallenar has 52,000 inhabitants. Its main activities are farming and mining. It was founded as San Ambrosio de Ballenary by Ambrose O'Higgins in 1789, after his birthplace in

Ballynary Ballynary () is the name of a townland on the eastern shore of Lough Arrow in the southern corner of County Sligo in Ireland. Ballynary was the ancestral seat of the O'Higgins family (or ''Ó hUiginn'' in Irish) for 700 years, until they were f ...

County Sligo County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the an ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Llanos de Challe National Park Llanos de Challe National Park is located on the Pacific coast of the Atacama Region, Chile. The park's mountains are moistened by the Camanchaca, creating a fog and mist-fed ecosystem called lomas (Spanish for "hills."). The park is one of the s ...

is located northwest of the city of Vallenar.

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 ...

by 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 ...

, Vallenar had 48,040 inhabitants (23,284 men and 24,756 women). Of these, 43,750 (91.1%) 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 4,290 (8.9%) 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 typically are descr ...

s. The population grew by 1.7% (792 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, Vallenar 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 Cristian Tapia Ramos. Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Vallenar is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Mr. Alberto Robles ( PRSD) and Mr. Giovanni Calderón (

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 6th electoral district, (together with

Caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

, Tierra Amarilla, Freirina,

Huasco Huasco () is a Chilean city and commune, in the Huasco Province, Atacama Region. The port city of Huasco is located 50 km west of Vallenar and close to the town of ''Huasco Bajo'', which lies on the southern bank of the Huasco River and o ...

and

Alto del Carmen Alto del Carmen is a Chilean Communes of Chile, commune and village in Huasco Province, Atacama Region. The commune spans an area of . Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute (Chile), National Statistics In ...

). The commune is represented in the Senate by Isabel Allende Bussi ( PS) and Baldo Prokurica Prokurica ( RN) as part of the 3rd senatorial constituency (Atacama Region).

Climate

Notable people

Yasna Provoste Yasna Provoste Campillay (born 16 December 1969) is a Chilean teacher and Christian Democrat politician of Diaguita descent, who served as minister during the presidencies of Ricardo Lagos and Michelle Bachelet. In 2008, after frauds committe ...

Ricardo Francisco Rojas Ricardo Francisco Rojas Trujillo (born 7 May 1974) is a Chilean football manager and former player. A centre-back, he played for clubs like Universidad de Chile, América and Colo-Colo. Club career As a youth player, he was with Academia Sa ...

References

External links

*
Municipality of Vallenar
{{Authority control Capitals of Chilean provinces Communes of Chile Populated places in Huasco Province Atacama Desert Populated places established in 1789 1789 establishments in the Spanish Empire