Temuco
From Free net encyclopedia
Temuco, which in the mapudungun language means "temu water", herbal tree used by Mapuches to cure diseases, is the capital of the IX región (la Araucanía), Chile, and is located 670kms south of Santiago. Because it is located near lake-based resort centers, it constitutes a hub for touristic excursions.
Contents |
Geography and climate
Temuco is a city located in the Southern Region of Chile (38º 45’ S y 72º 40’ W), which is located at about the same distance between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes. Morphologically, the city placement corresponds to Cautín river-originated fluvial land masses that developed in a crushed form between hills Ñielol (350m) and Conunhueno (360m).
The city is surrounded by an environment typical to southern Chile, consisting mostly of coniferous forests in the midst of a central prairy of moraines and cones next to the pre-Andres mountains. Fitogeographically, this is the zone of high production multicrops and fruits, with the presence of various trees, such as alerce, roble and lingue. Despite all this, its good air quality has started deteriorating because of the thick smog layer, which is saturating the environment.
Climatologically, this corresponds to Chile's central valley mediterranean region, with a subtropical weather and transition to humid regions. Throughout the years, cyclonic and anticyclonic influences do alternate, with a short dry summer period (when compared to Santiago or other central valley cities). Its mean annual temperature is 12ºC, with highest median during the warmest month of 23.5ºC and lowest median during the coldest month of 3.9ºC (Ciren-Corfo, 1992). Annual mean rain during 1961-1990 (Dirección Meteorológica de Chile, 1991) was 1.157 mm (Capelli de Steffens et al., 1997).
Demographics
This city has over 300,000 inhabitants (2002), which makes it one of the most populous cities in southern Chile. One of the distinctive features of Temuco is the strong presence of the mapuche culture, who make up 25% of the population, and numerous German immigrant colonies.
History
It was founded in 1881 february 24th. Manuel Recabarren, in charge of the project, founded Fuerte (Fort) Recabarren or Temuco.
Born as a military task, Temuco had in its origins the attributes of a camp, and a year after its founding, the first major streets started to form in the downtown area.
Later, in 1888 April 15th, the first city officers were elected, being the mayor José del Rosario Muñoz. The city grew quickly; a census in 1895 indicated a population of 7,708 people, and when Cautin was declared province, Temuco became its capital, being its population by that time 16,037.
Other features
Temuco is one of the newest cities of Chile. Its modern infrastructure, current architecture, and commercial downtown area define it as an important southern city. Temuco is home to the university known as the Universidad de la Frontera and a notable geographic feature called Cerro Ñielol.