Cautín Province ( es, Provincia de Cautín) is one of two

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

in the southern

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 eas ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

of La Araucanía (IX), bounded on the north by Arauco and Malleco provinces, on the east by

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

, on the south by

Valdivia Province Valdivia Province ( es, Provincia de Valdivia; ) is one of two provinces of the southern Chilean region of Los Ríos (XIV). The provincial capital is Valdivia. Located in the province are two important rivers, the Calle-Calle / Valdivia River ...

, and on the west by the

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

. Its population at the 2012 census was of 692,582. The most important

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...

are

Temuco Temuco () is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune, capital (political), capital of the Cautín Province and of the Araucanía Region in southern Chile. The city is located south of Santiago de Chile, Santiago. The city ...

, Villarrica, Padre Las Casas, and Nueva Imperial. Cattle, forestry, and agriculture make up most of Cautin's economy. Its climate is humid, rainy in winter, and generally warm in summer.

History

Cautin province once formed part of the territory occupied by the Araucanian natives, and its present political existence dates from 1887. Cautín Province was the last area to be taken by Chile during the

occupation of the Araucanía Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment * Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, t ...

. Cautin is known for the 1971 Agrarian revolt.

Tourism

The province of Cautín is known for its lakes and beaches. Perhaps best known internationally is the town of Pucón with its many recreational amenities on

Villarrica Lake Lake Villarrica, also known as Mallalafquén (its pre-Hispanic name is Mapudungun), is located about 700 kilometers south of Santiago in Chile's Lake District in the southeast area of the Province of Cautín. On its east shore lies the city of ...

under the backdrop of the Villarrica Volcano. South of Villarrica on Calafquén Lake lies Licán Ray, another lakeside resort town. Saavedra is a popular beach on the Pacific coast.

Economy

Cautín lies within the temperate agricultural and forest region of the south, and produces

cereal A cereal is any grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more food ...

crops such as wheat and oats. In

Carahue Carahue () is a city and commune in southern Chile. It is located 56 km west of Temuco, on the northern bank of the Imperial River. The city was founded as La Imperial on April 16, 1552 by Pedro de Valdivia. La Imperial or Antigua ldImpe ...

, the potato cultivation has a significant position. In addition, cattle production is remarkable.

Communes

The province of Cautín is divided into 21 communes (out of the 32 in the region): *

, provincial

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...

Cholchol Cholchol is a Chilean town and commune located in Cautín Province, Araucanía Region. The commune was created by Law 19,944 on April 22, 2004 by dividing off the northern area of the existing Nueva Imperial commune. Demographics According to th ...

* Cunco * Curarrehue * Freire * Galvarino *

Gorbea Gorbea () or Gorbeia () is a mountain and massif in the Basque Country, Spain. It is the highest summit in Biscay and Álava, with a height of above sea level. The massif covers a wide area between the two provinces. The main summit is a round ...

Lautaro Lautaro (Anglicized as 'Levtaru') ( arn, Lef-Traru " swift hawk") (; 1534? – April 29, 1557) was a young Mapuche toqui known for leading the indigenous resistance against Spanish conquest in Chile and developing the tactics that would conti ...

* Loncoche * Melipeuco * Nueva Imperial * Padre Las Casas * Perquenco *

Pitrufquén Pitrufquén () is a Chilean city and commune in Cautín Province, Araucanía Region. The city is located 30 km south of Temuco and lies immediately south of the Toltén River, along Chile Highway 5. History Pitrufquén was initially founde ...

* Pucón * Saavedra * Teodoro Schmidt *

Toltén Toltén is a Chilean commune located at the lower flows Toltén River at the southern coast of Cautín Province which is part of Araucanía Region. The commune is administered by the municipality Nueva Toltén, the main harbour and town within th ...

Vilcún Vilcún (Mapudungun for "lizard") is a Chilean town and commune in Cautín Province, Araucanía Region. The town is an important gateway for tourists visiting Conguillío National Park and Llaima volcano. The commune also includes the locali ...

* Villarrica

Geography and demography

According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute (''INE''), the province spans an area of and had a population of 667,920 inhabitants (0 men and 0 women), giving it a population density of . It is the third most populated province in the country after

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

and Concepción. Of these, 449,147 (67.2%) lived in urban areas and 218,773 (32.8%) in rural areas. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 15.5% (89,715 persons).

References

Revolution in Cautín
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cautin Province Provinces of Chile Provinces of La Araucanía Region