Cautín Province
Encyclopedia
Cautín Province is one of two provinces
Provinces of Chile
A province is the second largest administrative division in Chile, after a region. Each region is divided into provinces. There are 54 provinces in total....

 in the southern Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

an region of Araucanía
Araucanía Region
The IX Araucanía Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions and comprises two provinces: Malleco in the north and Cautín in the south....

 (IX), bounded on the north by Arauco
Arauco Province
Arauco Province is one of four provinces of the Chilean region of Biobío . It spans a coastal area of just south of the mouth of the Biobío River, the traditional demarcation between the nation's major natural regions, Zona Central and Zona Sur...

 and Malleco provinces, on the east by Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

, on the south by Valdivia Province
Valdivia Province
Valdivia Province is one of two provinces of the southern Chilean region of Los Ríos . The provincial capital is Valdivia. Located in the province are two important rivers, the Calle-Calle / Valdivia River and the Cruces River.It is part of Northern Patagonia and its wild virgin forest embrace the...

, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

. Its population at the 2002 census was of 667,920. The most important communes are Temuco
Temuco
Temuco is a city and commune, capital of the Cautín Province and of the Araucanía Region in southern Chile. The name comes from the Mapudungun language, meaning "temu water"; "temu" is a tree used by Mapuches for medicinal purposes. The city is located 670 km south of Santiago...

, Villarrica
Villarrica, Chile
Villarrica is a city and commune in southern Chile located on the western shore of Villarrica Lake in the Province of Cautín, Araucanía Region south of Santiago and close to the Villarrica Volcano ski center to the south east. Residents of Villarrica are known as Villarriquences.Tourism, grain and...

, Padre Las Casas
Padre Las Casas, Chile
Padre Las Casas is a Chilean city and commune located in Cautín Province, Araucanía Region. Padre Las Casas spans a landlocked area of .-Demographics:...

, and Nueva Imperial
Nueva Imperial
Nueva Imperial is a city and commune in the south of Chile. It is located in Cautín Province in the Araucanía Region. Nueva Imperial lies about to the west of Temuco, the regional capital.-Geography:...

. Cattle, forestry, and agriculture make up most of Cautin's economy. Its climate is humid, rainy in winter, and generally warm in summer.

History

Cautín Province was the last area to be occupied by Chile during the occupation of the Araucanía
Occupation of the Araucanía
The Occupation of Araucanía was a series of military campaigns, agreements and penetrations by the Chilean army and settlers which led to the incorporation of Araucanía into Chilean national territory...

. Cautin is known for the 1971 Agrarian revolt
Cautín Agrarian Revolt (1971)
The 1971 Cautín Agrarian Revolt was started by the Chilean peasants whose starvation was so severe that their extinction appeared imminent.This led to the peasantry seizing the Tres Hijuelas farm...

.

Tourism

The province of Cautín is known for its lakes and beaches. Perhaps best known internationally is the town of Pucón
Pucón
Pucón is a Chilean city and commune administered by the municipality of Pucón located in the Province of Cautín, Araucanía Region, 100 km to the southeast of Temuco and 780 km to the south of Santiago....

 with its many recreational amenities on Villarrica Lake under the backdrop of the Villarrica Volcano
Villarrica (volcano)
Villarrica is one of Chile's most active volcanoes, rising above the lake and town of the same name. The volcano is also known as Rucapillán, a Mapuche word meaning "House of the Pillán". It is the westernmost of three large stratovolcanoes that trend perpendicular to the Andean chain along the...

. South of Villarrica on Calafquén Lake
Calafquén Lake
Calafquén Lake is a lake of Chile, which straddles the border between the Araucanía Region and Los Ríos Region. It is one of the Seven Lakes and forms part of the drainage basin of the Valdivia River....

 lies Licán Ray
Licán Ray
Licán Ray is a Chilean town and resort area, located on the shore of Calafquén Lake within the commune of Villarrica, Cautín Province, Araucanía Region.Nearby, fossils have been found in Triassic rocks of the Panguipulli Formation....

, another lakeside resort town. Saavedra is a popular beach on the Pacific coast.

Economy

Cautín lies within the temperate agricultural and forest region of the south, and produces cereal
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...

 crops such as wheat and oats. In Carahue
Carahue
Carahue is a city and commune in southern Chile. It is located 56 km west of Temuco, on the northern bank of the Imperial River.The city was founded as La Imperial April 16, 1552 by Pedro de Valdivia....

, the potato cultivation has a significant position. In addition, cattle production is remarkable.

Communes

The province of Cautín is divided into 21 communes (out of the 32 in the region):
  • Temuco, provincial capital
  • Carahue
    Carahue
    Carahue is a city and commune in southern Chile. It is located 56 km west of Temuco, on the northern bank of the Imperial River.The city was founded as La Imperial April 16, 1552 by Pedro de Valdivia....

  • Cholchol
    Cholchol
    Cholchol is a Chilean town and commune located in Cautín Province, Araucanía Region. The commune was created by Law 19,944 on April 22, 2004 by dividing off the northern area of the existing Nueva Imperial commune.-Demographics:...

  • Cunco
    Cunco, Chile
    Cunco is a Chilean commune and city in Cautín Province, Araucanía Region. The town is located 60 km southeast of the city of Temuco and 77 km west of Icalma International Pass....

  • Curarrehue
  • Freire
    Freire
    Freire is a word used in the Portuguese and Galician languages to define the occupational name for a friar, or a nickname for a pious person or someone employed at a monastery...

  • Galvarino
  • Gorbea
    Gorbea, Chile
    Gorbea is a Chilean city and commune located in Cautín Province, Araucanía Region.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Gorbea spans an area of and has 15,222 inhabitants . Of these, 9,413 lived in urban areas and 5,809 in rural areas...

  • Lautaro
    Lautaro, Chile
    Lautaro is a city and commune of the Cautín Province in Chile's Araucanía Region. The area is named in honor of Lautaro, Mapuche leader during the War of Arauco.-Demographics:...

  • Loncoche
  • Melipeuco
    Melipeuco
    Melipeuco is a town and commune in Chile, located at the foot of the Andes, in the Province of Cautín, Araucanía Region. Melipeuco is from the southern entrance of the Conguillío National Park. The Nevados de Sollipulli, an ice-filled volcanic caldera surrounded by numerous hot water springs and...

  • Nueva Imperial
    Nueva Imperial
    Nueva Imperial is a city and commune in the south of Chile. It is located in Cautín Province in the Araucanía Region. Nueva Imperial lies about to the west of Temuco, the regional capital.-Geography:...

  • Padre Las Casas
    Padre Las Casas, Chile
    Padre Las Casas is a Chilean city and commune located in Cautín Province, Araucanía Region. Padre Las Casas spans a landlocked area of .-Demographics:...

  • Perquenco
    Perquenco
    Perquenco is a town and commune in southern Chile's Araucanía Region. The town was declared capital of the Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia by Orélie-Antoine de Tounens, but soon after it was occupied by Cornelio Saavedra Rodríguez who was in charge of the Chilean occupation of the...

  • Pitrufquén
    Pitrufquén
    Pitrufquén is a Chilean city and commune in Cautín Province, Araucanía Region. The city is located 30 km south of Temuco and lies immediately south of the Toltén River, along Chile Highway 5.-History:...

  • Pucón
  • Saavedra
  • Teodoro Schmidt
    Teodoro Schmidt, Chile
    Teodoro Schmidt is a Chilean town and commune located in Cautín Province, Araucanía Region. Teodoro Schmidt spans a coastal area of .-Demographics:...

  • Toltén
  • Vilcún
    Vilcún
    Vilcún is a Chilean town and commune in Cautín Province, Araucanía Region. The town is an important gateway for tourists visiting Conguillío National Park and Llaima volcano....

  • Villarrica
    Villarrica, Chile
    Villarrica is a city and commune in southern Chile located on the western shore of Villarrica Lake in the Province of Cautín, Araucanía Region south of Santiago and close to the Villarrica Volcano ski center to the south east. Residents of Villarrica are known as Villarriquences.Tourism, grain and...



Geography and demography

According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute
National Statistics Institute (Chile)
The National Statistics Institute of Chile is a state-run organization of the Government of Chile, created in the second half of the 19th century and tasked with performing a general census of population and housing, then collecting, producing and publishing official demographic statistics of...

 (INE), the province spans an area of 18409 sqkm and had a population of 667,920 inhabitants (0 men and 0 women), giving it a population density of 36.3 PD/sqkm. It is the third most populated province in the country after Santiago and Concepción
Concepción Province, Chile
Concepción Province is one of four provinces of the Chilean region of Biobío . Its capital, Concepción, is part of the Greater Concepción conurbation, the nation's second largest metropolitan area after Santiago.-Administration:...

. Of these, 449,147 (67.2%) lived in urban areas and 218,773 (32.8%) in rural areas. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 15.5% (89,715 persons).
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