Colbún (

Mapudungun Mapuche (, Mapuche & Spanish: , or Mapudungun; from ' 'land' and ' 'speak, speech') is an Araucanian language related to Huilliche spoken in south-central Chile and west-central Argentina by the Mapuche people (from ''mapu'' 'land' and ''che ...

: "Cleaning of the land") 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 eas ...

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than city, cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares ...

and commune in

Linares Province Linares ( es, Provincia de Linares) is one of four provinces of the central Chilean region of Maule (VII). The provincial capital and most populous center is the city of Linares. Administration As a province, Cachapoal is a second-level administ ...

Maule Region The Maule Region ( es, Región del Maule, ) is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. Its capital is Talca. The region derives its name from the Maule River which, running westward from the Andes, bisects the region and spans a ...

. The commune has a population of over 17,000 inhabitants and covers an area of , making it the province's largest. Its capital, the town of Colbún, has 3,679 inhabitants (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 ...

). It is west of the center of

continental Chile Continental Chile is the name given to the Chilean territory located on the continental shelf of South America. This term serves to distinguish the South American area from the insular territories, known as Insular Chile, as from the Antarctic C ...

Demographics

According to the 2002

of the National Statistics Institute, Colbún spans an area of and has 17,619 inhabitants (8,943 men and 8,676 women). Of these, 5,152 (29.2%) 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 12,467 (70.8%) 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 des ...

s. The population grew by 3.9% (669 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Geography

The Colbún commune is bordered on the west by

Yerbas Buenas Yerbas Buenas is a Chilean town and commune in Linares Province, Maule Region. It lies in the geographical center of the country, on the fertile central plain, some south of the national capital of Santiago, south of Talca, the regional cap ...

; on the southwest by

Linares Linares may refer to: People *Fernando de Alencastre, 1st Duke of Linares (1641–1717), Spanish nobleman and military officer; viceroy of New Spain from 1711 to 1716 *Andreu Linares (born 1975), Spanish futsal player * Art Linares, American polit ...

and

Longaví Longaví (in Mapudungun: ''snake's head'') is a Chilean city and commune located in Linares Province, one of the four provinces that make up the Maule Region, in the geographical center of Chile. Geography The commune has a surface of and is bo ...

; on the north by

San Clemente San Clemente (; Spanish for " St. Clement") is a city in Orange County, California. Located in the Orange Coast region of the South Coast of California, San Clemente's population was 64,293 in at the 2020 census. Situated roughly midway betwe ...

, ( Talca Province); on the east and southeast, 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 second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

, and on the south, by Parral and San Fabián; the latter in

Ñuble Region The Ñuble Region ( es, Región de Ñuble), officially the Region of Ñuble ( es, Región de Ñuble), is — since 5 September 2018 – one of Chile's sixteen regions. It spans an area of , making it the smallest region in Chile in terms of area ...

. The municipality of Colbún occupies the easternmost strip of the Province of Linares, which boasts some of the highest provincial

peaks Peak or The Peak may refer to: Basic meanings Geology * Mountain peak ** Pyramidal peak, a mountaintop that has been sculpted by erosion to form a point Mathematics * Peak hour or rush hour, in traffic congestion * Peak (geometry), an (''n''-3)-di ...

and the headwaters of several provincial rivers.

Foundation and Historical facts

The municipality of Colbún was officially founded December 30, 1927. Prior to that date the municipality was called

Panimávida Panimávida (in Mapudungun: "hill of pumas") is a town in the Chilean commune of Colbún, Linares Province, Maule Region. Panimávida is well known in Chile for being one of the oldest hot springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geo ...

and had its headquarters in that town. The municipality of Panimávida had been founded May 6, 1906. From 1913 to 1954 Colbún was the terminus of the narrow gauge Putagán—Colbún railway originating in the city of

.La estacion del tren (Spanish)
Retrieved march 4, 2012

Administration

As a commune, Colbún 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, rural coun ...

, headed by an

alcalde Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) ...

who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Pedro Pablo Muñoz Oses ( Ind.). The municipal council has the following members: * José Hernán Núñez Ramos ( PPD) * Lupercio Díaz Gutiérrez ( UDI) * Teresa Fuentes Loyola (

PRI PRI may refer to: Entertainment and media * '' Performance Racing Industry'', a magazine * PRI Records, in Los Angeles, US * Public Radio International, Minneapolis, US Measurements and codes * Perceptual Reasoning Index, in the WAIS-IV intelli ...

) * María Eugenia Riveros Medina ( PRSD) * Jose Hernán Salgado Bustos ( RN) * Manuel Ortiz Bustos ( PS) Within the

electoral divisions of Chile Chile has two distinct electoral division systems: * To elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Senate, Chile is divided into several electoral divisions, namely electoral districts and senatorial constituencies. * To elect members of t ...

, Colbún 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 Bourbon ...

by Jorge Tarud (

PDC PDC may refer to: In science and technology Chemistry, biology and medicine * Phosducin, a human protein and gene in the retina * Pyridinium dichromate (Cornforth reagent), a chromium-based oxidant * Pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, an enzyme ...

) and Romilio Gutiérrez ( UDI) as part of the 39th electoral district, together with

, San Javier, Villa Alegre and

. 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 e ...

by Hernán Larraín (UDI) and Ximena Rincón González (PDC) as part of the 11th senatorial constituency (Maule-South).

Attractions

In the vicinity of Colbún there are two well-known Chilean

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneothe ...

s: the "Termas de Quinamávida" and the "Termas de

". In addition, the municipality concentrates the hydroelectric industry of the province, with the important

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many p ...

s of Colbún and Machicura. The Colbún dam

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much lar ...

is a centre for recreation and

water sports Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...

although these are highly dependent on water levels, which tend to be erratic.

Local customs

Crafts

Near Panimávida lies the village of Rari, famous for its unique

craft A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pr ...

s made of horse hair.

References

External links

*
Municipality of Colbún

Aerial view of an area of the municipality of Colbún
Shows the larger Colbún dam lake, to the north-east and the Machicura dam lake to the south-west.
Aerial view of the city of Colbún (Google maps)Aerial view of Panimávida (Google maps)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colbun Communes of Chile Populated places established in 1927 Populated places in Linares Province