Putre 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 ...

, capital of the Parinacota Province in the Arica-Parinacota Region. It is located east of

Arica Arica ( ; ) is a commune and a port city with a population of 222,619 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica y Parinacota Region. It is Chile's northernmost city, being located only south of the border with Peru. The city is the capita ...

, at an altitude of . The town is backdropped by Taapaca volcanic complex. Putre is on the edge of the

Lauca National Park Lauca National Park is located in Chile's far north, in the Andean range. It encompasses an area of 1,379 km2 of altiplano and mountains, the latter consisting mainly of enormous volcanoes. Las Vicuñas National Reserve is its neighbour to ...

, and is popular with visitors to the National Park wishing to acclimatise to the altitude. There is a historical

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

in Putre. The commune also includes the localities of Socoroma, Tignamar, Belén, Chapiquiña, Pachama, Ancuta, Guallatiri,

Parinacota Parinacota (in hispanicized spelling), Parina Quta or Parinaquta (Aymara, ''parina'' flamingo, ''quta'' lake, "flamingo lake", other hispanicized spellings ''Parinaccota, Parinajota'') may refer to: Lakes * Parinaquta (Carabaya), in Peru, Puno Re ...

, Chucuyo and Caquena. On March 6, 2011, a 6.2 magnitude earthquake centered beneath Putre shook northern Chile and southern Peru, causing no injuries and only minor damage.

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

, Putre has a tundra climate ( ET), bordering closely on a cold desert climate ( BWk).

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 ...

of the National Statistics Institute, Putre had 1,977 inhabitants (1,345 men and 632 women). Of these, 1,235 (62.5%) 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 742 (38.5%) 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 fell by 29.5% (826 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, Putre 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 a mayor alcalde who is directly elected every four years. Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Putre is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Mr. Nino Baltolu ( UDI) and Mr. Orlando Vargas ( PPD) as part of the 1st electoral district, which includes the entire

Arica and Parinacota Region The Arica y Parinacota Region ( es, link=no, Región de Arica y Parinacota ) is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. It comprises two provinces, Arica and Parinacota. It borders Peru's Department of Tacna to the north, Boliv ...

.The commune is represented in the Senate by Fulvio Rossi Ciocca ( PS) and Jaime Orpis Bouchon (UDI) as part of the 1st senatorial constituency (

and

Tarapacá Region The Tarapacá Region ( es, Región de Tarapacá, ) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions. It comprises two provinces, Iquique and Tamarugal. It borders the Chilean Arica and Parinacota Region to the north, Bolivia's Orur ...

References

{{Communes in Arica y Parinacota Region Capitals of Chilean provinces Communes of Chile Populated places in Parinacota Province 1580 establishments in the Spanish Empire