Linares, Chile

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Linares
City seal
Founded May 23, 1794,
Original Name Villa de San Ambrosio de Linares
Region Maule Region
Area
 - Municipality

 1,466 km²
Population
 - City (estimated)
 - Density (municipality)

70,000 Inhabitants
57 /km²
Time zone Santiago Time Zone, UTC- 4
Telephone Prefix 73
Postal code 3580000
Gentilic Linarense
Mayor Mr. Rodrigo Hermosilla (Socialist Party of Chile)
(2004-2008)

Map of Linares in the Maule Region of Chile.

Linares is a Chilean city and episcopal see located in the Maule Region and lies in the geographical center of the country, on the fertile central plain, 303 km south of Santiago and 50 km south of Talca, the regional capital. Linares is the capital city of the province of Linares.

Contents

[edit] Demography

The comuna of Linares has a population of 83,249 (2002 census), of which 15,025 (18%) live in rural areas while the urban population has reached 68,224 (82%), (as compared with 59,658 in the 1992 census). Women (35,669) make up 52.3% of Linares urban population while men (32,555) represent 47,7%. In contrast, and mirroring the results typically found in rural areas in Chile, there were 7,963 men (53.0%) vs 7,062 women (47.0%) living in the rural areas of the comuna.

[edit] Geography

The municipality covers an area of 1.466 km² and the city proper, 16 km². The rivers Ancoa, Putagán and Achibueno are the main rivers that pass through the municipality or form its natural borders.

Most of the territory of the municipality is located within the central plain or "depresión intermedia", (Valle Central de Chile). Some low altitude hills are located in the westernmost part of the municipality, while its easternmost part is marked by the presence of the foothills of the Andes mountains. The municipality of Linares is bordered on the west by San Javier; on the north by Villa Alegre, Yerbas Buenas and Colbún; on the east, by Colbún, and on the south, by Longaví. The municipality of Colbún occupies the easternmost strip of the province, where some of the highest provincial peaks are located as are the sources of several of the main rivers.

[edit] Climate

Linares has a mild Mediterranean climate. The summers are hot and mainly dry (November to March) with temperatures reaching up to 32 -33 degrees Celsius on the hottest days. The winters (late May to mid September) tend to be rather humid and rainy, with typical maximum daily temperatures of 14-15 degrees Celsius, and minimum just above freezing.

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Avg temp. °F (°C) 70
(21)
69
(21)
63
(17)
57
(14)
52
(11)
48
(9)
47
(8)
49
(9)
52
(11)
57
(14)
62
(17)
68
(20)
58
(14)
Avg high °F (°C) 87
(31)
85
(29)
78
(26)
70
(21)
61
(16)
55
(13)
55
(13)
58
(14)
63
(17)
69
(21)
76
(24)
83
(28)
70
(21)
Avg low temperature °F (°C) 54
(12)
54
(12)
49
(9)
44
(7)
44
(7)
42
(6)
39
(4)
40
(4)
42
(6)
46
(8)
49
(9)
54
(12)
46
(8)
Rainfall inches (millimeters) 0.4
(10)
0.1
(3)
0.8
(20)
1.8
(45)
6.4
(163)
7.3
(187)
8.1
(206)
4.0
(61)
3.3
(83)
0,8
(20)
0,5
(13)
0,3
(8)
27.4
(694.13)
Source: Weatherbase

[edit] History and current status

Linares was founded on 23 May 1794 as "Villa de San Ambrosio de Linares" by Ambrosio O'Higgins, the then Viceroy of Peru and Bernardo O'Higgins' father. The city counts among its natives important statesmen, politicians, poets, writers and musicians and is currently an active commercial, agricultural, industrial and service center.

The city of Linares houses the Artillery School of the Chilean Army.

Main Square, Linares, Chile
Main Square, Linares, Chile

[edit] Religion

According to the 2002 census, in the municipality of Linares, 45,987 people 15 and older identified themselves as Catholics, equivalent to 75.41% of the total population 15 and older, while 15.74 % of people described themselves as evangelical protestants, 0.61% as Jehovah's witnesses and 0.70% as Latter-day Saints. Approximately 4.95% of the population declared to be atheist or agnostic, while 2.59% declared to follow other religions.

Linares is a see of a Diocese of the Catholic Church. There are currently 9 Catholic parish churches and a large number of chapels in the comuna. There are also many places of worship that serve the various protestant denominations as well as the Jehovah's witnesses and the Latter-day Saints.

[edit] Main sights

Cathedral of "San Ambrosio", Linares
Cathedral of "San Ambrosio", Linares

The city and its surroundings have many attractions, for example:

Some natural attractions in the surrounding area include the piedmont of the Andes mountains, with forests of pines and other trees; lakes (the artificial Colbún lake); rivers, and good camping and hiking areas.

Other cities and towns in the province include: Colbún, Panimávida, Longaví, Parral, Retiro, San Javier, Villa Alegre and Yerbas Buenas.

[edit] Politics

[edit] Chilean presidential election, 2005-2006. Official and final results in Linares municipality

[edit] First Round: 11 December 2005

Ballot
number
Candidate Party/
Coalition
Votes  % Result
1 Sebastián Piñera Echenique RN 12,974 31.8% Runoff
2 Michelle Bachelet Jeria PS/CPD 16,338 40.0% Runoff
3 Tomás Hirsch Goldschmidt PH/JPM 1,418 3.5%
4 Joaquín Lavín Infante UDI 10,123 24.8%

Source: Tricel [1]

[edit] Runoff election. 15 January 2006

Ballot
number
Candidate Party/
Coalition
Votes  % National Result
1 Sebastián Piñera Echenique RN/APC 22,385 53.8
2 Michelle Bachelet Jeria PS/CPD 19,227 46.2 President

Source: Tricel [2] (PDF)|-

[edit] See also

[edit] Intendant (Intendente) of the Maule Region

  • Fernando Coloma Amaro

[edit] Provincial Governor

[edit] Members of Parliament (Diputados)

The Maule Region is divided into five parliamentary districts. Each one of these returns two members of parliament or deputies. Linares belongs to Chile's district # 39.

District number Municipalities encompassed in the district Members of Parliament (Political party)
District 39 Linares, Colbún, San Javier, Villa Alegre, Yerbas Buenas Osvaldo Palma (RN), Jorge Tarud (PPD)

[edit] Senators (Senadores)

The Maule Region is divided into two senatorial circumscriptions. One (Circunscription North) is composed by the provinces of Curicó and Talca and the other, by the provinces of Linares and Cauquenes. Thus, senatorial circumscription North encompasses parliamentary districts 36, 27 and 38, and senatorial circumscription South encompasses parliamentary districts 39 and 40. Each circumscription elects two Senators. Linares belongs to Chile's senatorial circumscriptions # 11 (Maule South)

Circumscription number and name Municipalities encompassed in the Circumscription Members of Parliament (Political party)
(11) Región del Maule (Sur) Linares, Colbún, San Javier, Villa Alegre, Yerbas Buenas, Longaví, Retiro, Parral, Cauquenes, Pelluhue, Chanco Jaime Naranjo Ortiz (PS), Hernán Larraín Fernández (UDI)

[edit] Notable natives and residents of Linares (city and province)

[edit] Artists and intellectuals

[edit] Related links

[edit] See also

  • [3] Edilberto Domarchi, a poet from Linares. In Spanish.
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Coordinates: 35°51′S, 71°36′W