Chile Chico (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

for ''Little Chile'') is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

General Carrera Province General Carrera Province () is one of four provinces of the southern Chilean region of Aisen (XI). Its capital city is Chile Chico. Administration As a province, General Carrera is a second-level administrative division, governed by a provincia ...

Aisén Region Aisén or Aysén may refer to: Places *Aysén, Chile, a commune in Aysén Province *Aysén Region The Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region (, , '), often shortened to Aysén Region or Aisén,Examples of name usage1, official reg ...

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. It is located on the south shore of

General Carrera Lake General Carrera Lake (Chilean part, officially renamed in 1959) or Lake Buenos Aires (Argentine part) is a deep lake located in Patagonia and shared by Argentina and Chile. Both names are internationally accepted, while the autochthonous name of ...

. Chile Chico, which has around 3,000 inhabitants, is the eponymous capital of the commune and capital of the

of the Aysén Region. The town is west of the border with

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and 8 km from the Argentine town of

Los Antiguos Los Antiguos is a town in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina, located on the south shore of Lago Buenos Aires. It lies 2 km from the border with Chile, and 8 km from the Chilean town of Chile Chico. It is connected to Perito Moreno and ...

, with which it is connected by a paved road. A car ferry connects the town with

Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez Puerto Ibáñez is a small town in the Aisén Region in the south of Chile. It is located on a bay off the north shore of General Carrera Lake, south of Coihaique. In the 2002 census it had a population of 757. It is the capital of the commune ...

on the north shore of the lake. Since 2017 Chile Chico has produced the world's southernmost wine. This wine is produced at the experimental vineyard of Undurraga that is part of Instituto de Investigación Agropecuaria.

Climate

Its

rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from body of water, bodies of water (such as oceans and larg ...

location gives Chile Chico 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 Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Csb''), unusually dry for its latitude with only half the rainfall of Balmaceda nearby and less than a tenth that received at many coastal locations in the Aisén region. Its moderate climate is sometimes compared to Middle Chile but is most similar to that of places like

Sequim Sequim ( ) is a city in Clallam County, Washington, United States. It is located on the north side of the Olympic Peninsula between the Dungeness River and Sequim Bay. The city is south of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and north of the Olympic Mo ...

which lie in a similar westerly wind rain shadow. The record high is in January 2013 and the record low was in July 1982.

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, Chile Chico spans an area of and has 4,444 inhabitants (2,378 men and 2,066 women). Of these, 3,042 (68.5%) 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 1,402 (31.5%) 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 are typically desc ...

s. The population grew by 18.3% (687 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, Chile Chico 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, borough cou ...

, 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 Luperciano Muñoz González ( PPD). 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 ...

, Chile Chico 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 René Alinco ( PDC) and David Sandoval (

UDI Udi may refer to: Places * Udi, Enugu, a local government areas and city in Nigeria * Udi Hills, Enugu State, Nigeria * Udi, a place in the Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh, India People Given name * Udi Aloni (born 1959), Israeli-American film ...

) as part of the 59th electoral district, which includes the entire

. 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 Antonio Horvath Kiss ( RN) and Patricio Walker Prieto (PDC) as part of the 18th senatorial constituency (Aisén Region). ChileChico-001

References

External links

*
Municipality of Chile Chico
{{Communes in Aisén Region Communes of Chile Populated lakeshore places in Chile Populated places established in 1929 Populated places in General Carrera Province Capitals of Chilean provinces