Río Negro (, English: ''Black River'') is a Chilean

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

and commune in Osorno Province, Los Lagos Region. The city is located 38 km south of Osorno and 6 km west of

Route 5 Route 5, or Highway 5, may refer to routes in the following countries: International * AH5, Asian Highway 5 * European route E05 * European route E005 Argentina * National Route 5 (Argentina), National Route 5 Australia New South Wales * ...

. It has an area of 1,266 km² and a population of 14,732 inhabitants (7,204 women and 7,528 men according to census 2002). The commune is bordered on the north by Osorno and San Juan de la Costa, on the east by Puerto Octay, on the west by the Pacific Ocean, and on the south by Purranque.

History

In the 19th century, the commune was a property located between Chahuilco and Purranque called ''Curileufu'' by the Huilliche. The town was founded on lands donated by Jose Miguel Alderete in the year 1896. The first

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) a ...

(mayor) was Pedro González.

Demographics

According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Río Negro spans an area of and has 14,732 inhabitants (7,528 men and 7,204 women). Of these, 6,583 (44.7%) lived in urban areas and 8,149 (55.3%) in rural areas. The population fell by 8.1% (1294 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, Río Negro 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, headed by an

who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Carlos Schwalm Urzúa ( RN). The council has the following members: * Carlos Kusch ( UDI) * Pedro Carreño (

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 ...

) * Jaime Ramos ( Ind.- PS) * Patricio Alvarado (Ind.- RN) * Juan Saldivia Quintullanca (Ind.-

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 ...

) * Rosiel del Río (Ind.-UDI) 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 ...

, Río Negro 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 R ...

by Fidel Espinoza (PS) and Carlos Recondo (UDI) as part of the 56th electoral district, together with Puyehue, Purranque, Puerto Octay, Fresia,

Frutillar Frutillar is a city and commune located in southern Chile, Chilean Patagonia, in Llanquihue Province, within the Los Lagos Region, the lake district. The bay of Frutillar is placed on the banks of Lake Llanquihue, the largest lake entirely withi ...

, Llanquihue, Puerto Varas and

Los Muermos Los Muermos is a city and commune in Llanquihue Province, Los Lagos Region in southern Chile. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Los Muermos spans an area of and has 16,964 inhabitants (8,939 men ...

. 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 el ...

by Camilo Escalona Medina (PS) and Carlos Kuschel Silva (RN) as part of the 17th senatorial constituency (Los Lagos Region).

Localities and sectors

* Riachuelo *Chifin *Huellelhue Beach * Huilma *Millantué *Chan-Chan *Chahuilco *Ñancuan *Tres Esteros *Río Blanco *El Bolsón

Climate

The climate is oceanic ( Köppen: Cfb), with average temperatures of 11.4 °C.

References

External links

*
Municipality of Rio Negro
*
Austral Newspaper of Osorno
*
Visiones de Rio Negro Magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rio Negro, Chile Communes of Chile Populated places established in 1896 Populated places in Osorno Province 1896 establishments in Chile