Los Lagos Region Explained

Official Name:Los Lagos Region
Native Name:Región de Los Lagos
Native Name Lang:es
Settlement Type:Region of Chile
Seat Type:Capital
Seat:Puerto Montt
Coordinates:-41.4717°N -72.9367°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Chile
Parts Type:Provinces
Parts:Osorno, Llanquihue, Chiloé, Palena
Leader Title:Intendant
Leader Name:Harry Jürgensen Caesar
Leader Party:RN
Flag Size:120px
Flag Alt:Flag of Los Lagos Region
Flag Link:Flag of Los Lagos
Shield Alt:Coat of Arms of Los Lagos Region
Mapsize:250px
Area Total Km2:48583.6
Area Footnotes:[1]
Area Rank:5
Elevation Max M:2450
Elevation Min M:0
Population Total:823204
Population As Of:2017 census
Population Rank:7
Population Density Km2:auto
Demographics Type1:GDP (PPP)
Demographics1 Footnotes:[2]
Demographics1 Title1:Total
Demographics1 Info1:$11.131 billion (2014)
Demographics1 Title2:Per capita
Demographics1 Info2:$12,335 (2014)
Blank Name Sec1:HDI (2019)
Blank Info Sec1:0.795[3]
Website:Official website
Iso Code:CL-LL

Los Lagos Region (Spanish; Castilian: Región de Los Lagos pronounced as /es/, 'Region of the Lakes') is one of Chile's 16 regions, which are first order administrative divisions, and comprises four provinces: Chiloé, Llanquihue, Osorno and Palena. The region contains the country's second-largest island, Chiloé, and the second-largest lake, Llanquihue. Its capital is Puerto Montt; other important cities include Osorno, Castro, Ancud, and Puerto Varas. Los Lagos Region is considered part of Patagonia.

Historically, the Huilliche have called this territory between Bueno River and Reloncaví Sound Futahuillimapu, meaning "great land of the south". The region hosts Monte Verde, one of the oldest archaeological sites of the Americas. The largest indigenous group of the region are the Huilliche who lived in the area before the arrival of the Spanish. The Spanish crown settled Chiloé Archipelago in 1567[4] while the rest of the region begun to be slowly colonized by non-indigenous people only in the late 18th century. In the 1850s Germans arrived to colonize the shores of Llanquihue Lake under a Chilean state-sponsored program.

Los Lagos Region economy is dominated by the service sector but based in fishing, salmon aquaculture, forestry and cattle farming. Tourism is economically important in The Andes where ski resorts, hot springs and recreational fishing are popular offers.

Geography

The region is bordered on the north by Los Ríos Region, on the south by Aisén Region, on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the east by Argentina (provinces of Neuquén, Río Negro and Chubut). Wild environments can be seen along the coastal area, such as Caleta Zorra.

Demography

The region has an area of 48585sqkm and its population, according to the 2017 INE Census was 823,204, with a population density of 16.9 /km².

Principal towns

The Región de Los Lagos has seventeen towns according to the 2017 census, of which eleven have more than 10000 inhabitants each.

No.TownPopulationProvince
1.Puerto Montt169 736Llanquihue
2.Osorno147 666Osorno
3. Alerce42 267 Llanquihue
4. 33 417 Chiloé
5.Ancud28 162Chiloé
6.Puerto Varas26 172Llanquihue
7.Quellón17 552Chiloé
8.Calbuco15 903Llanquihue
9.Llanquihue12 945Llanquihue
10.Frutillar12 876Llanquihue
11.Purranque12 614 Osorno
12. 7928 Llanquihue
13.Fresia7328Llanquihue
14.Dalcahue7120Chiloé
15.Río Negro6978Osorno
16.Chonchi5632Chiloé
17.Chaitén1639Palena

Climate

The region, in general, has a natural vegetation of Valdivian temperate rain forest. The coastal part, except for the south of the Chiloé Island, has a temperate climate with cold winter rain. To the south, the climate is characterized by constant rain and not having dry seasons.

Protected areas

Protected areas include 7 national parks, 2 private-owned parks and 2 natural monuments.

National Parks
Private parks
Natural monuments

Economy

The region is the center of aquaculture in chile.

Transportation

El Tepual Airport lies a few miles west of Puerto Montt and Cañal Bajo Carlos Hott Siebert Airport a few miles east of Osorno. Also east of Osorno, the Cardenal Antonio Samoré Pass is a major mountain pass across the Andes to Argentina via Route 215.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Los Lagos Region . 13 March 2010 . Government of Chile Foreign Investment Committee .
  2. http://stats.oecd.org/ Regions and Cities > Regional Statistics > Regional Economy > Regional GDP per Capita
  3. Web site: Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab. hdi.globaldatalab.org. en. 26 October 2021.
  4. [Walter Hanisch|Hanisch, Walter]