Los Lagos Region

Los Lagos Region

Región de Los Lagos
Los Lagos Region Región de Los Lagos
Region of Chile
	Corcovado National Park
	Flag Coat of arms
	Map of Los Lagos Region
	Coordinates: 41°28′18″S 72°56′12″W / 41.47167°S 72.93667°W
Country	Chile
Capital	Puerto Montt
Provinces	Osorno, Llanquihue, Chiloé, Palena
Government
• Intendant	Harry Jürgensen Caesar (RN)
Area
• Total	48,583.6 km2 (18,758.2 sq mi)
• Rank	5
Highest elevation	2,450 m (8,040 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population (2017 census)
• Total	823,204
• Rank	7
• Density	17/km2 (44/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)
• Total	$11.131 billion (2014)
• Per capita	$12,335 (2014)
ISO 3166 code	CL-LL
HDI (2019)	0.795; high
Website	Official website (in Spanish)

Los Lagos Region (Spanish: Región de Los Lagos pronounced [los ˈlaɣos], lit. '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. The mainland portion of Los Lagos Region south of Reloncaví Sound (Palena Province) 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 48,585 km² (18,759 sq mi) 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.	Town	Population	Province
1.	Puerto Montt	169 736	Llanquihue
2.	Osorno	147 666	Osorno
3.	Alerce	42 267	Llanquihue
4.	Castro	33 417	Chiloé
5.	Ancud	28 162	Chiloé
6.	Puerto Varas	26 172	Llanquihue
7.	Quellón	17 552	Chiloé
8.	Calbuco	15 903	Llanquihue
9.	Llanquihue	12 945	Llanquihue
10.	Frutillar	12 876	Llanquihue
11.	Purranque	12 614	Osorno
12.	Los Muermos	7928	Llanquihue
13.	Fresia	7328	Llanquihue
14.	Dalcahue	7120	Chiloé
15.	Río Negro	6978	Osorno
16.	Chonchi	5632	Chiloé
17.	Chaitén	1639	Palena

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.