The Maule river or Río Maule ( Mapudungun: ''rainy'') is one of the most important rivers of

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 inextricably linked to the country's pre-Hispanic (

Inca The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...

) times, the country's conquest, colonial period, wars of Independence,

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, agriculture (

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

, traditional crops), culture (

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

), religion, economy and politics. The Maule River marked the southern limits of the Inca Empire. Many famous men and women in Chile's history have been born in the

Region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

named after the river. The river has also lent its name to one of the viticultural regions of the

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

(also known as

appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the ingredients of a food or beverage originated, most often used for the origin of wine grapes. Restrictions other than geographical boundaries, s ...

s), the Valley of Maule, a subregion of the Central Valley.

Upper reach

The river is 240 km long and its basin covers around 20,600 km². Thirty percent of the basin is located in the

Andean The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long and wide (widest between 18°S ...

range. It is born in Laguna del Maule in Talca Province, at an altitude of 2,200 mt in the vicinity 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 ...

. From that point the rivers flows westwardly and is soon joined on its left bank by one of its main

tributaries A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which the ...

, the Melado River, which is born in Laguna Dial, in Linares Province. Further on, and still in its upper course, the Maule is joined, this time on its right bank by rivers Colorado, Claro, Puelche and Cipreses.

Middle reach

Before arriving at the central valley, the Maule is dammed into the Colbún dam lake that feeds the hydroelectric power station of the same name. Further on, the Maule is joined by the Claro (another river named Claro) and the Loncomilla. The latter flows from the south and receives several tributaries: the Putagán, the Achibueno - Ancoa system, the Perquilauquén, the Purapel and the Cauquenes.

Lower reach

In its lower reaches, the river receives only one modest

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

, the Estero de los Puercos and, after flowing for nearly 250 kilometers, the Maule ends at the

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

, north of the city of Constitución.

Ecology

The Maule River basin contains a number of significant

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

and fauna of Chile. Historically the Chilean Wine Palm, '' Jubaea chilensis'', was present in the Maule River basin; however, due to expansion of the human population in this region, this

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

tree has a more restricted range that still includes some of the northern portion of the Maule Region.

Literary allusions

The Maule has been considered as Chile's

literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, plays, and poems. It includes both print and digital writing. In recent centuries, ...

river ''par excellence''. The number of

poets A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, writers, historians,

orator An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. Etymology Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14 ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

s, journalists as well as composers and

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

ians that have been born or have settled in the Maule Region, to which "the river of the fogs" has given its name, is quite staggering. Many Latin American stories have had the river as the main background or protagonist. Several anthologies, author's dictionaries and

essay An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

s have given vivid accounts of the vast cultural wealth of the region around river Maule.

Notes

References

Universidad de Talca
PDF file.
Cuenca del río Maule
PDF file. (2004) Government of Chile publication. * C. Michael Hogan (2008
''Chilean Wine Palm: Jubaea chilensis'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg

Oasis de la Campana: Wine Palm (2008)

External links

Maule River and bridges (Pan American Highway and railway), Maule Region of Chile, north of San Javier Maule River
and Colbún dam lake, in the center
Upper reaches of the Maule basin

Lower course of Maule river
with the city of Constitución to the west
Railway bridge over the Maule River
near Constitución {{Coord, 35, 19, 00, S, 72, 24, 30, W, region:CL_type:waterbody_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Rivers of Chile Wine regions of Chile Rivers of Maule Region