The Maule river or Río Maule (

Mapudungun Mapuche ( , ; from 'land' and 'people', meaning 'the people of the land') or Mapudungun (from 'land' and 'speak, speech', meaning 'the speech of the land'; also spelled Mapuzugun and Mapudungu) is either a language isolate or member of the s ...

: ''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 Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

modern history The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500, ...

, 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 Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ...

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 Talca Province () is one of four Provinces of Chile, provinces of the central Chilean Regions of Chile, region of Maule Region, Maule (VII). Its capital is the city of Talca, Chile, Talca. Administration As a province, Talca is a second-level ad ...

, 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 The Melado is a river of Linares province, Maule Region, of Chile. It rises in the "Cordillera de los Andes" with the name of river Guaiquivilo where it is formed by two tributaries, the river Cajón Troncoso, originating near the Argentine borde ...

, which is born in Laguna Dial, in

Linares Province 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 administrative division of Chile ...

. 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 Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and also mo ...

of the same name. Further on, the Maule is joined by the Claro (another river named Claro) and the

Loncomilla Loncomilla River (Mapudungun for "Gold of the Chief") is a tributary to the Maule river in Linares Province, Maule Region, Chile. Two rivers join to form the Loncomilla River: the Perquilauquén river and Longaví river. See also * List of riv ...

. The latter flows from the south and receives several tributaries: the Putagán, the

Achibueno Achibueno is a river, tributary of the Loncomilla, in Linares Province, Maule Region of Chile, where it forms the border between the municipalities of Linares and Longaví. It is born from the homonym glacial lake, situated to the east of the N ...

Ancoa Ancoa is a river, tributary of the Achibueno, in Linares Province, Maule Region 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 Antarcti ...

system, the Perquilauquén, the Purapel and the

Cauquenes Cauquenes, a city and commune in Chile, is the capital of the Cauquenes Province and is located in the Maule Region. History According to the historical records of Alonso de Ercilla, Cauquenes was originally inhabited by an indigenous community ...

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 The wildlife of Chile is very diverse because of the country's slender and elongated shape, which spans a wide range of latitude, and altitude, ranging from the windswept coastline of the Pacific coast on the west to northern Andes to the sub-Ant ...

. Historically the

Chilean Wine Palm ''Jubaea'' is a genus of palms with one species, ''Jubaea chilensis'', commonly known in English as the Chilean wine palm or Chile cocopalm, and palma chilena in Spanish. It is native to southwestern South America and is endemic to a small area ...

, ''

Jubaea chilensis ''Jubaea'' is a genus of palms with one species, ''Jubaea chilensis'', commonly known in English as the Chilean wine palm or Chile cocopalm, and palma chilena in Spanish. It is native to southwestern South America and is endemic to a small area ...

'', 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 The Maule Region (, ) 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 basin of about 20,6 ...

, 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 Colbún (Mapudungun: "Cleaning of the land") is a Chilean town and commune in Linares Province, Maule Region. 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 ...

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