Los Lagos Region ( , 'Region of the Lakes') is one of Chile's 16 regions, which are first order

administrative division Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

s, and comprises four provinces: Chiloé, Llanquihue, Osorno and Palena. The region contains the country's second-largest island, Chiloé, and the second-largest lake, Llanquihue. Its capital is

Puerto Montt Puerto Montt (Mapuche: Meli Pulli) is a port city and commune in southern Chile, located at the northern end of the Reloncaví Sound in the Llanquihue Province, Los Lagos Region, 1,055 km to the south of the capital, Santiago. The commune ...

; other important cities include Osorno, Castro,

Ancud Ancud () is a city in southern Chile located in the northernmost part of the island and province of Chiloé, in Los Lagos Region. It is the second largest city of Chiloé Archipelago after Castro. The city was established in 1768 to function as ...

, and

Puerto Varas Puerto Varas, also known as "La Ciudad De Las Rosas" or “The City Of Roses”, is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune located in the southern Chilean province of Llanquihue Province, Llanquihue, in the Los Lagos Region ...

. Los Lagos Region is considered part of

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 ...

. Historically, the Huilliche have called this territory between Bueno River and Reloncaví Sound Futahuillimapu, meaning "great land of the south". The region hosts

Monte Verde Monte Verde is a Paleolithic archaeological site in the Llanquihue Province in southern Chile, located near Puerto Montt, Los Lagos Region. The site is primarily known for Monte Verde II, dating to approximately 14,550–14,500 calibrated years ...

, one of the oldest archaeological sites of the Americas. The largest indigenous group of the region are the

Huilliche The Huilliche (), Huiliche or Huilliche-Mapuche are the southern partiality of the Mapuche macroethnic group in Chile and Argentina. Located in the Zona Sur, they inhabit both Futahuillimapu ("great land of the south") and, as the Cunco or Ve ...

who lived in the area before the arrival of the Spanish. The Spanish crown settled

Chiloé Archipelago The Chiloé Archipelago (, , ) is a group of islands lying off the coast of Chile, in the Los Lagos Region. It is separated from mainland Chile by the Chacao Channel in the north, the Sea of Chiloé in the east and the Gulf of Corcovado in the s ...

in 1567 Hanisch, Walter. ''La Isla de Chiloé''. 1982. pp. 11–12. while the rest of the region begun to be slowly colonized by non-indigenous people only in the late 18th century. In the 1850s Germans arrived to colonize the shores of Llanquihue Lake under a Chilean state-sponsored program. Los Lagos Region economy is dominated by the

service sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the ...

but based in

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

, salmon aquaculture,

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

and

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

farming. Tourism is economically important in The

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

where

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area–a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North Am ...

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

s and

recreational fishing Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is occupational fishing activities done for profit; or subsistence fishing, ...

are popular offers.

Geography

The region is bordered on the north by

Los Ríos Region The Los Ríos Region (Spanish: ''Región de Los Ríos'', , ''Region of the Rivers'') is one of Chile's 16 regions, the country's first-order administrative divisions. Its capital is Valdivia. It began to operate as a region on October 2, 20 ...

, on the south by

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 ...

, on the west by 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 ...

and on the east by

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 ...

(provinces of

Neuquén Neuquén (; ) is the capital city of the Argentine province of Neuquén and of the Confluencia Department, located in the east of the province. It occupies a strip of land west of the confluence of the Limay and Neuquén rivers which form t ...

, Río Negro and

Chubut Chubut may refer to: * Chubut Province Chubut ( from Tehuelche language, Tehuelche 'transparent'; ) is a provinces of Argentina, province in southern Argentina, situated between the 42nd parallel south (the border with Río Negro Province), ...

). Wild environments can be seen along the coastal area, such as Caleta Zorra.

Demography

The region has an area of and its population, according to the 2017 INE Census was 823,204, with a population density of 16.9 /km².

Principal towns

The Región de Los Lagos has seventeen towns according to the 2017 census, of which eleven have more than 10000 inhabitants each.

Climate

The region, in general, has a natural vegetation of Valdivian temperate rain forest. The coastal part, except for the south of the

Chiloé Island Chiloé Island (, , ), also known as Greater Island of Chiloé (''Isla Grande de Chiloé''), is the largest island of the Chiloé Archipelago off the west coast of Chile, in the Pacific Ocean. The island is located in southern Chile, in the Los L ...

, has a temperate climate with cold winter rain. To the south, the climate is characterized by constant rain and not having dry seasons.

Protected areas

Protected areas Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

include 7 national parks, 2 private-owned parks and 2 natural monuments. ;National Parks * Alerce Andino * Chiloé *

Corcovado Corcovado () which means " hunchback" in Portuguese, is a mountain in central Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a granite peak located in the Tijuca Forest, a national park. Corcovado hill lies just west of the city center but is wholly within t ...

Hornopirén Hornopirén is a town in the commune of Hualaihué in Palena Province, Zona Austral, southern Chile. It lies along the northern portion of Carretera Austral. It had 3,629 inhabitants as of 2017. Hornopirén is an important tourist stop on Chile’s ...

* Pumalín * Puyehue *

Vicente Pérez Rosales Vicente Pérez Rosales (; 5 April 1807 – 6 September 1886) was a politician, traveller, merchant, miner and Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world ...

;Private parks * Tantauco Park * Las Vertientes – Reserva Natural Privada ;Natural monuments * Islotes de Puñihuil * Lahuen Ñadi

Economy

The region is the center of aquaculture in Chile.

Transportation

El Tepual Airport lies a few miles west of

and Cañal Bajo Carlos Hott Siebert Airport a few miles east of Osorno. Also east of Osorno, the

Cardenal Antonio Samoré Pass Cardenal Antonio Samoré Pass () is one of the main mountain passes through the southern Andes along the border between Argentina and Chile. Together with Paso Libertadores, it is one of the easiest of the Argentina-Chile passes, and one of the ...

is a major

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...

across the

to Argentina via Route 215.

References

External links

*http://www.frutillar.com *http://www.regiondeloslagos.cl *https://web.archive.org/web/20060625023200/http://www.regionx.cl/
Satellite view of Puerto Montt (Google maps)Satellite view of the Chiloé archipelago (Google maps)Satellite view of Lake Llanquihue (Google maps)Satellite view of Osorno (Google maps)Satellite view of Valdivia (Google maps)Satellite view of Chaitén (Google maps)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lagos Region, Los Regions of Chile