Piedra Santa is a large

rock outcrop An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth and other terrestrial planets. Features Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most p ...

near Malalcahuello in

Araucanía Region The Araucanía ( ), La Araucanía Region ( ) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions, and comprises two provinces: Malleco in the north and Cautín in the south. Its capital and largest city is Temuco; other important cities ...

, Chile. It is best known for folklore and

folk Catholicism Folk Catholicism can be broadly described as various ethnic group, ethnic expressions and practices of Catholic Church, Catholicism intermingled with aspects of folk religion. Practices have varied from place to place and may at times contradict ...

associated to it. Piedra Santa is said to be a

Mapuche The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...

princess, and the daughter of great warrior, turned into rock. People who travel between

Curacautín Curacautín, which means "Gathering Stone" in Mapudungun, is a Communes of Chile, commune and List of cities in Chile, city in the Chilean province of Malleco Province, Malleco. Curacautín is located 90 kilometres northeast of Temuco, in a valley ...

and

Lonquimay Lonquimay is a town and commune in the Malleco Province of southern Chile's Araucanía Region. Transport It is the terminus of an abandoned broad gauge railway project which supporters cited as the most practical railway route through the A ...

stop at Piedra Santa to deposit food and other gifts in order to "feed" the princess.

References

{{Chile-geo-stub Folk Catholicism Landforms of Araucanía Region Mapuche mythology Sacred rocks

See also

References