Talca () is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and commune in

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 ...

located about south of

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, and is the capital of both Talca Province and

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 ...

(7th Region of Chile). As of the 2012 census, the city had a population of 201,142. The city is an important economic center, with agricultural (wheat) and manufacturing activities, as well as wine production. It is also the location of the Universidad de Talca and the Catholic University of Maule, among others. The Catholic Church of Talca has held a prominent role in the history of Chile.

Demographics

According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Talca spans an area of and had, in that year, 201,797 inhabitants. Of these, in 2002, 193,755 (96%) lived in urban areas and 8,042 (4%) in rural areas. The city had about 233,339 inhabitants (111,796 men and 121,543 women), according to the 2015 census. The population grew by 15.63% (31,542 persons) between the 2002 and 2015 censuses.

History

The city was founded in 1692 by Tomás Marín de Poveda and refounded as Villa San Agustín de Talca in 1742 by José Antonio Manso de Velasco. The city played a role in Chile's independence. For example, the siege of Talca took place there on March 4, 1814, and the Battle of Cancha Rayada on March 29 and the Second battle of Cancha Rayada, on March 16. 1818. Also, on February 12, 1818, Bernardo O'Higgins signed the Chilean declaration of independence. Talca Province was founded in 1833. This ended the dependency of Colchagua Province. Also, Talca was a focus of insurrection during the revolutions of 1851 and 1859. Talca was partially destroyed by the

1928 Talca earthquake The 1928 Talca earthquake occurred on 1 December at near Curepto, Maule Region, Chile, with an estimated magnitude of 7.6 MW, 8.3 MS and 7.9 ML. In Talca, it lasted 1 minute 45 seconds. There was damage between Valparaíso and Concepción, ...

and the

2010 Chile earthquake The 2010 Chile earthquake and tsunami () occurred off the coast of central Chile on Saturday, 27 February at 03:34:12 local time (06:34:12 UTC), having a magnitude of 8.8 on the moment magnitude scale, with intense shaking lasting for about ...

, being rebuilt both times. It sits near the epicenter of the 2010 8.8 magnitude earthquake and suffered severe shaking causing the collapse of much of the historic town centre.Images of earthquake including collapse of Talca historic centre
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Administration

As a commune, Talca 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 A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

, headed by an

alcalde ''Alcalde'' (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and Administration (government), administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor (position), corregidor, the presiding officer o ...

who is directly elected every four years. The 2008–2012 alcalde is Juan Castro Prieto (Independent Democratic Union, centre-right). Within the

electoral divisions of Chile This article covers the electoral division of Chile, which involves two distinct systems: # Chamber of Deputies of Chile, Chamber of Deputies and Senate of Chile, Senate: Chile is divided into electoral districts and senatorial constituencies for ...

, Talca 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 Bourb ...

by Sergio Aguiló ( PS) and Germán Verdugo ( RN) as part of the 37th electoral district, which consists entirely of the Talca commune. 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 Juan Antonio Coloma Correa ( UDI) and Andrés Zaldívar Larraín ( PDC) as part of the 10th senatorial constituency (Maule-North).

Geography

The commune of Talca spans an area of . The city of Talca is located south of

, south of the confluence of the rivers Lircay and Claro, in the Central Valley. The city is bisected by the

Pan-American Highway The Pan-American Highway is a vast network of roads that stretches about 30,000 kilometers (about 19,000 miles) from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, in the northernmost part of North America to Ushuaia, Argentina, at the southern tip of South America. I ...

Climate

Talca has a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: Csb) with dry summers and wet winters, though it is hotter in summer and cooler in winter than coastal cities like Valparaíso and Concepción.

Transportation

Talca has a public bus system managed by the municipal Department of Transportation. The routes are tracked through Moovit.

Gallery

Image:Talca plaza.JPG, A garden pavilion in Plaza de Armas (Armas Square) Image:Talca Museo.JPG, O'Higginian Historical Museum (Museo Histórico O'Higginiano) Image:Talca 1 sur.jpg, Calle Sur de Talca (Talca Southern Street) Image:28quake.jpg, Aftermath in damage at Talca Cathedral, by 1928 Talca earthquake