Cordillera Province is one of six 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 Santiago Metropolitan Region

Santiago Metropolitan Region

Santiago Metropolitan Region or simply Metropolitan Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. It is the country's only landlocked administrative region and contains the nation's capital, Santiago...

 of central 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...

. Its topography includes a small area of Chile's central valley, glaciers, rivers, volcanoes, and the Andes

Andes

The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...

 range, which forms the border with 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...

. The provincial capital of Puente Alto

Puente Alto

Puente Alto is a city and commune of Chile. It is the capital of the Cordillera Province in the Santiago Metropolitan Region. Located at the south of the Greater Santiago conurbation, it houses 492,603 inhabitants , making it the largest city in Chile...

 lies approximately 21 km (13 mi) south-southeast of Santiago

Santiago

Santiago is the capital city of Chile. Santiago may also refer to:*Santiago *Santiago , a Spanish given name*Santiago!, a shortened form of the Reconquista battle cry "Santiago y cierra, España"...

.

Administration

As a province, Cordillera is a second-level administrative division

Administrative divisions 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....

 of Chile, governed by a provincial governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

 who is appointed by the president

President of Chile

The President of the Republic of Chile is both the head of state and the head of government of the Republic of Chile. The President is responsible of the government and state administration...

. On December 10, 2008, president Michelle Bachelet

Michelle Bachelet

Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria is a Social Democrat politician who was President of Chile from 11 March 2006 to 11 March 2010. She was the first woman president of her country...

 appointed Alejandro Fernández Araya provincial governor.

Communes

The province comprises three communes, each governed by a municipality consisting of an alcalde

Alcalde

Alcalde , or Alcalde ordinario, is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An alcalde was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian cabildo and judge of first instance of a town...

 and municipal council

Municipal council

A municipal council is the local government of a municipality. Specifically the term can refer to the institutions of various countries that can be translated by this term...

: Pirque

Pirque

Pirque is a commune of Chile in Cordillera Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region; it is located 2.8 kilometers SE of Puente Alto and 21.3 kilometers SSE of the center of Santiago. It is situated in a mountain chain.-Demographics:...

, Puente Alto

Puente Alto

Puente Alto is a city and commune of Chile. It is the capital of the Cordillera Province in the Santiago Metropolitan Region. Located at the south of the Greater Santiago conurbation, it houses 492,603 inhabitants , making it the largest city in Chile...

 and San José de Maipo

San José de Maipo

San José de Maipo is the name of a commune in Chile and the city within it, located in Cordillera Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region, some 48 kilometers south-east of capital Santiago, bordered on the east by the Argentina, across the Andes.-Demographics:...

.

Geography and demography

The provincial area is 5528.3 sqkm, making it the largest province in the region. According to the 2002 census, Cordillera was the second most populous province in the region with a total population of 522,856. At that time, there were 511,565 people living in urban area

Urban area

An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...

s, 11,291 living in rural areas, 256,193 men, and 266,663 women.