Maule river
Encyclopedia
The Maule river is one of the most important rivers of Chile
and is inextricably linked to this country's pre-Hispanic (Inca) times, the country's conquest, colonial
period, wars of Independence
, modern history
, agriculture (wine
, traditional crops), culture (literature
, poetry
, folklore
), religion, economy and politics. The Maule River marked the southern limits of the Inca Empire. Many famous men and women in Chile's history
have been born in the Region
named after the river. The river has also lent its name to one of the viticultural
regions of the country
(also known as appellation
s), the Valley of Maule.
covers around 20,600 km². Thirty percent of the basin is located in the Andean range. It is born in Laguna del Maule in Talca Province
, at an altitude of 2,200 mt in the vicinity of the border with Argentina
. From that point the rivers flows westwardly and is soon joined on its left bank by one of its main tributaries
, the Melado River
, which is born in Laguna Dial, in Linares Province
. Further on, and still in its upper course, the Maule is joined, this time on its right bank by rivers Colorado, Claro, Puelche and Cipreses.
, the Maule is dammed into the Colbún
dam
lake that feeds the hydroelectric power station
of the same name.
Further on, the Maule is joined by the Claro (another river named Claro) and the Loncomilla. The latter flows from the south and receives several tributaries: the Putagán
, the Achibueno
- Ancoa
system, the Perquilauquén
, the Purapel and the Cauquenes.
, the Estero de los Puercos and, after flowing for nearly 250 kilometers, the Maule ends at the Pacific Ocean
, north of the city of Constitución
.
in this region, this endangered tree has a more restricted range that still includes some of the northern portion of the Maule Province.
river par excellence. The number of poets
, writers, historians, orators, playwright
s, journalists as well as composers and folk music
ians that have been born in the Maule Region
-to which "the river of the fogs" has given its name- or have settled down there, is staggering. Many stories have had the river as main background or protagonist. Several anthologies, author's dictionaries and essay
s have given their account of the wealth of culture
that the region has generated.
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...
and is inextricably linked to this country's pre-Hispanic (Inca) times, the country's conquest, colonial
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
period, wars of Independence
Chilean Independence
Chilean War of Independence was an armed conflict between pro-Independence criollos who sought political and economic independence from Spain and royalist criollos, who supported the continued allegiance to and permanence within the Spanish Empire of the Kingdom of Chile...
, modern history
History of Chile
The territory of Chile has been populated since at least 2,000 BC. By the 16th century, Spanish conquistadors began to subdue and colonize the region of present-day Chile, and the territory became a colony from 1540 to 1818, when it gained independence from Spain...
, agriculture (wine
Chilean wine
Chilean wine is wine made in the South American country of Chile. The region has a long viticultural history for a New World wine region dating to the 16th century when the Spanish conquistadors brought Vitis vinifera vines with them as they colonized the region. In the mid-19th century, French...
, traditional crops), culture (literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
), religion, economy and politics. The Maule River marked the southern limits of the Inca Empire. Many famous men and women in Chile's history
History of Chile
The territory of Chile has been populated since at least 2,000 BC. By the 16th century, Spanish conquistadors began to subdue and colonize the region of present-day Chile, and the territory became a colony from 1540 to 1818, when it gained independence from Spain...
have been born in the Region
Maule Region
The VII Maule Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. Its capital is Talca. The region takes its name from the Maule River which, running westward from the Andes, bisects the region and spans a basin of about 20,600 km2...
named after the river. The river has also lent its name to one of the viticultural
Viticulture
Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...
regions of the country
Chilean wine
Chilean wine is wine made in the South American country of Chile. The region has a long viticultural history for a New World wine region dating to the 16th century when the Spanish conquistadors brought Vitis vinifera vines with them as they colonized the region. In the mid-19th century, French...
(also known as appellation
Appellation
An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown; other types of food often have appellations as well...
s), the Valley of Maule.
Upper reach
The river is 240 km long and its basinDrainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
covers around 20,600 km². Thirty percent of the basin is located in the Andean range. It is born in Laguna del Maule in Talca Province
Talca Province
Talca Province is one of four provinces of the central Chilean region of Maule . Its capital is the city of Talca.-Administration:As a province, Talca is a second-level administrative division of Chile, governed by a provincial governor who is appointed by the president.-Communes:The province...
, at an altitude of 2,200 mt in the vicinity of 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...
. From that point the rivers flows westwardly and is soon joined on its left bank by one of its main tributaries
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
, the Melado River
River Melado
The Melado is a river of Linares province, Maule Region, of Chile. It rises in the "Cordillera de los Andes" with the name of river Guaiquivilo where it is formed by two tributaries, the river Cajón Troncoso, born near the Argentine border and the river Palaleo, from the outflow of Dial lake,...
, which is born in Laguna Dial, in Linares Province
Linares Province
Linares is one of four provinces of the central Chilean region of Maule . The provincial capital and most populous center is the city of Linares.-Administration:...
. Further on, and still in its upper course, the Maule is joined, this time on its right bank by rivers Colorado, Claro, Puelche and Cipreses.
Middle reach
Before arriving at the central valleyChilean Central Valley
The Central Valley , Intermediate Depression or Longitudinal Valley is the depression between the Chilean Costal Range and the Andes Mountains. The central valley should not be confused with Central Chile that encompasses part of the valley...
, the Maule is dammed into the Colbún
Colbún
Colbún is a Chilean town and commune in Linares Province, Maule Region. The commune has a population of over 17,000 inhabitants and covers an area of , making it the province's largest. Its capital, the town of Colbún, has 3,679 inhabitants...
dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
lake that feeds the hydroelectric power station
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
of the same name.
Further on, the Maule is joined by the Claro (another river named Claro) and the Loncomilla. The latter flows from the south and receives several tributaries: the Putagán
River Putagán
Putagán is a river in Linares Province, Maule Region of Chile. The Putagán is born in the foothills of the Andes and, flowing from east to west, passes south of the village of the same name...
, the Achibueno
Achibueno
Achibueno is a river, tributary of the Loncomilla, in Linares Province, Maule Region of Chile, where it forms the border between the municipalities of Linares and Longaví....
- Ancoa
Ancoa
Ancoa is a river, tributary of the Achibueno, in Linares Province, Maule Region of Chile.-External links:*], Chile]...
system, the Perquilauquén
Perquilauquén
The Perquilauquén River is a tributary of the Loncomilla river, in the Maule Region of Chile. The river joins the Longaví to form the Loncomilla, a tributary of the Maule river....
, the Purapel and the Cauquenes.
Lower reach
In its lower reaches, the river receives only one modest tributaryTributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
, the Estero de los Puercos and, after flowing for nearly 250 kilometers, the Maule ends at 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...
, north of the city of Constitución
Constitución, Chile
Constitución is a seaside resort, industrial city, minor port and commune in Chile, located in the Maule Region, Talca Province.-History:-8.8 magnitude 2010 earthquake:...
.
Ecology
The Maule River basin contains a number of significant flora and fauna of Chile. Historically the Chilean Wine Palm, Jubaea chilensis, was present in the Maule River basin; however, due to expansion of the human populationOverpopulation
Overpopulation is a condition where an organism's numbers exceed the carrying capacity of its habitat. The term often refers to the relationship between the human population and its environment, the Earth...
in this region, this endangered tree has a more restricted range that still includes some of the northern portion of the Maule Province.
Literary Allusions
The Maule has been considered as Chile's literaryLiterature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
river par excellence. The number of poets
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, writers, historians, orators, playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
s, journalists as well as composers and folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
ians that have been born in the Maule Region
Maule Region
The VII Maule Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. Its capital is Talca. The region takes its name from the Maule River which, running westward from the Andes, bisects the region and spans a basin of about 20,600 km2...
-to which "the river of the fogs" has given its name- or have settled down there, is staggering. Many stories have had the river as main background or protagonist. Several anthologies, author's dictionaries and essay
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
s have given their account of the wealth of culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
that the region has generated.
External links
- http://local.google.com/local?f=q&hl=en&q=Maule,+Chile&ie=UTF8&ll=-35.553108,-71.693516&spn=0.016969,0.039654&t=k&om=1Maule River and bridges (Pan American Highway and railway), Maule RegionMaule RegionThe VII Maule Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. Its capital is Talca. The region takes its name from the Maule River which, running westward from the Andes, bisects the region and spans a basin of about 20,600 km2...
of Chile, north of San JavierSan JavierSan Javier, a Spanish language reference to Saint Francis Xavier, is sometimes used as a toponym in parts of the world where that tongue is spoken:-*San Javier, Santa Fe*San Javier Department, Córdoba*San Javier Department, Misiones...
] - http://local.google.com/local?f=q&hl=en&q=Maule,+Chile&ie=UTF8&ll=-35.698013,-71.267624&spn=0.135503,0.31723&t=k&om=1 Maule River and ColbúnColbúnColbún is a Chilean town and commune in Linares Province, Maule Region. The commune has a population of over 17,000 inhabitants and covers an area of , making it the province's largest. Its capital, the town of Colbún, has 3,679 inhabitants...
dam lake, in the center] - http://local.google.com/local?f=q&hl=en&q=Maule,+Chile&ie=UTF8&t=k&om=1&ll=-35.781057,-70.793152&spn=0.541448,1.268921Upper reaches of the Maule basin, ChileChileChile ,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...
] - http://local.google.com/local?f=q&hl=en&q=Constituci%C3%B3n,+Chile&ie=UTF8&ll=-35.338514,-72.372608&spn=0.068056,0.158615&t=k&om=1Lower course of Maule river, with the city of ConstituciónConstituciónConstitución is Spanish for "constitution" and may refer to:Geography*Argentina**Barrio Constitución, a neighborhood in central Buenos Aires, where the Constitución train station is located....
to the west] - http://local.google.com/local?f=q&hl=en&q=Constituci%C3%B3n,+Chile&ie=UTF8&t=k&om=1&ll=-35.366586,-72.374539&spn=0.008504,0.019827Railway bridge over the Maule River, near ConstituciónConstituciónConstitución is Spanish for "constitution" and may refer to:Geography*Argentina**Barrio Constitución, a neighborhood in central Buenos Aires, where the Constitución train station is located....
]