Coyhaique Explained

Official Name:Coyhaique
Other Name:Coihaique
Flag Size:100px
Flag Alt:Flag
Shield Alt:Coat of arms
Map Alt:Location of the Coihaique commune in Los Aisén Region
Pushpin Map:Chile Aysén#Chile
Pushpin Map Narrow:yes
Pushpin Label Position:left
Pushpin Map Alt:Location in Chile
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Chile
Coor Pinpoint:city
Coordinates:-45.5667°N -76°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Chile
Subdivision Type1:Region
Subdivision Name1:Aysén
Subdivision Type2:Province
Subdivision Name2:Coyhaique
Government Footnotes:[1] [2]
Government Type:Municipality
Leader Title:Alcalde
Leader Party:PDC
Leader Name:Carlos Gatica Villegas
Established Title:Founded as
Established Date:Baquedano
Established Title2:Founded
Established Date2:October 12, 1929
Area Footnotes:[3]
Area Total Km2:7320.5
Population As Of:2012 Census
Settlement Type:City and Commune
Population Total:53715
Population Density Km2:auto
Population Demonym:Coyhaiquinos/as
Population Blank1 Title:Urban
Population Blank1:44850
Population Blank2 Title:Rural
Population Blank2:5191
Demographics Type1:Sex
Demographics1 Title1:Men
Demographics1 Info1:25,453
Demographics1 Title2:Women
Demographics1 Info2:24,588
Timezone:CLT
Utc Offset:−4
Utc Offset Dst:−3
Elevation M:302
Postal Code Type:Postal code
Postal Code:5950000
Area Code:56 + 67
Blank Name:Climate
Blank Info:Cfb
Website:Official website

Coyhaique (pronounced as /es/), also spelled Coihaique in Patagonia, is the capital city of both the Coyhaique Province and the Aysén Region of Chile. Founded by settlers in 1929, it is a young city. Until the twentieth century, Chile showed little interest in exploiting the remote Aisén region. The Carretera Austral southern highway opened in the 1980s.

Geography and climate

See also: Coihaique Group. The commune of Coyhaique spans an area of 43297sqkm.[3] It is surrounded by rivers (Simpson and Coyhaique) and by mountains. The mountains may be snow-covered throughout the year, thus Coihaique is sometimes called the city of eternal snow.

Under the Köppen climate classification, Coyhaique has an oceanic climate (Cfb),[4] though it is considerably less wet than coastal settlements like Puerto Montt or Puerto Aysén since the coastal mountains provide considerable shielding from the westerly winds. Temperatures are moderate during the months of November through April, while from May until October, temperatures are chilly and accompanied by the possibility of snowfall.

Demographics

According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Coyhaique has 50,041 inhabitants (25,453 men and 24,588 women). Of these, 44,850 (89.6%) lived in urban areas and 5,191 (10.4%) in rural areas. The population grew by 15.6% (6,744 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.[3]

Administration

As a commune, Coyhaique is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2012-2016 alcalde is Alejandro Huala Canumán (PS).[1] [2] He was preceded by Omar Muñoz Sierra (UDI) from 2008 to 2012 and David Sandoval Plaza (also UDI), who served from 2000 to 2008.

Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Coyhaique is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by René Alinco (PDC) and the former mayor David Sandoval as part of the 59th electoral district, which includes the entire Aysén Region. The commune is represented in the Senate by Antonio Horvath Kiss (RN) and Patricio Walker Prieto (PDC) as part of the 18th senatorial constituency (Aysén Region).

Society and culture

The town square is laid out in the shape of a pentagon in honor of the Carabineros, the national police force. A Carabinero general was one of the town's founders. Novelist and poet, Ivonne Coñuecar, is from Coyhaique and was awarded the Santiago Municipal Literature Award in 2019.[5] [6] Since 2015 Coyhaique hosts the FIMP, Festival Internacional de Música de la Patagonia, a major initiative in this field.[7]

Transport and tourism

Travellers arrive by air through the local airport, by sea through ships that dock at Puerto Chacabuco (near Puerto Aysén, about one hour to the west of Coyhaique), and by road. Two border crossings near Coyhaique allow entry into Argentina. Fly fishing is popular along its rivers and lakes.

LAN has three daily flights from Santiago to Balmaceda Airport, located 40km (30miles) from Coyhaique. Other airlines also provide services. Connections from Balmaceda airport to points further south in Chile will often require a connection in Puerto Montt.

Its sole ski resort, El Fraile, provides two ski lifts and a couple of tracks but no on-site lodging.

Hotspots

Pollution

A 2018 study by the World Health Organization (WHO) looking at 4,357 cities in 108 countries worldwide showed Coyhaique to have the worst air quality in the Americas and ranked it 139th unhealthiest in the world.[8]

This is mostly due to wood smoke from fires the residents light for warmth in the winter months of June and July. Because the city is located between two mountainous ridges, the smoke cannot be dispersed down the valley and away and heat inversion compresses it into a dense cloud of smoke.

In May 2016, the Chilean government also declared Coyhaique “saturated” by harmful fine particles (PM2.5) which are linked to cardiopulmonary diseases and lung cancer.[9]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Asociación Chilena de Municipalidades . 27 January 2011. es.
  2. Web site: Municipality of Coihaique . 27 January 2011. es.
  3. Web site: National Statistics Institute . 8 September 2010. es.
  4. Peel, M. C. . Finlayson B. L. . McMahon, T. A. . amp . 2007 . Updated world map of the Köppen - Geiger climate classification . Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. . 11 . 1633–1644 . 10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007 . 1027-5606. free .
  5. Web site: Universidades estatales de la patagonia celebran el día internacional del libro a través de sus poetas . 2022-06-17 . www.uaysen.cl . es.
  6. Web site: Mostrador . El . 2015-01-26 . La Patriagonia de Ivonne Coñuecar . 2022-06-17 . El Mostrador . es.
  7. http://www.fimp.cl
  8. News: 2019-07-17 . A city suffocating: most polluted city in Americas struggles to change . 2024-04-11 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
  9. News: A city suffocating: most polluted city in Americas struggles to change. Coyhaique. John Bartlett in. 2019-07-17. The Guardian. 2019-07-17. en-GB. 0261-3077.