Chiloé Island

Location of Chiloé in Chile

Chiloé Island (Spanish: Isla de Chiloé, or Isla Grande de Chiloé ["Big Island of Chiloé"]) is an island off the Pacific coast of South America, part of Chile. Chiloé Province is a province of Chile that includes Chiloé island, part of the Los Lagos Region. The Pacific Ocean (from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, peaceful sea, bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan) is the worlds largest body of water. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ...

Geography

Chiloé Island (8,394 km², 3241 sq mi), is the second largest island in Chile (and South America), after the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego. it is separated from the Chilean mainland by the Chacao Strait ("Canal de Chacao") to the north, and by the Gulf of Ancud and the Gulf of Corcovado to the east. The Pacific ocean lies to the west, and the Chonos Archipelago lies to the south, across the Gulf of Corcovado. The island is 190 km (118 mi) from north to south, and averages 55-65 km wide (35 to 40 mi). The capital is Castro, on the east side of the island; the largest town (although not by much) is Ancud, at the island's northwest corner, and there are several smaller port towns on the east side of the island, such as Quellón, Dalcahue, and Chonchi. Tierra del Fuego (Spanish: land of fire) is an archipelago at the southernmost tip of South America. ... Castro can refer to: Fidel Castro Raúl Castro Fidels younger brother Ramon Castro Fidels older brother Juana Castro Fidels sister The Castro, a famous gay-oriented neighborhood in San Francisco, California Castro Street, the primary street in that neighborhood Castro, an Italian city destroyed in 1649 Castro... Anc d is a town in southern Chile on the island of Chilo . ...

Chiloé province includes Chiloé Island, the northern third of the Chonos Archipelago, and a section of the Chilean mainland across the Gulf of Corcovado east of Chiloé Island. The area of Chiloé province is 23,446 km² (9058 sq mi). The administrative center of the province is Castro, while the seat of the Roman Catholic bishopric is Ancud. Chiloé province is part of the Los Lagos region (Región de los Lagos), which includes the Chilean lakes region on the mainland north of Chiloé. The administrative center of the region is Puerto Montt. The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... In some Christian churches, the diocese is an administrative territorial unit governed by a bishop, sometimes also referred to as a bishopric or episcopal see, though more often the term episcopal see means the office held by the bishop. ... Puerto Montt is a port city in southern Chile, located in the Los Lagos Region. ...

Chiloé and the Chonos Archipelago are a southern extension of the Chilean coastal range, which runs north and south, parallel to the Pacific coast and the Andes Mountains. The Chilean Central Valley lies between the coastal mountains and the Andes, of which the Gulfs of Ancud and Corcovado form the southern extension. Mountains run north and south along the spine of the island. The east coast is deeply indented, with several natural harbors and numerous smaller islands. See also architecture with non-sequential dynamic execution scheduling (ANDES). ...

Climate

Chiloe runs from 41º 40' S to about 45º 45' S latitude, and has a humid, cool temperate climate. The western side of the island is rainy and wild, home to the Valdivian temperate rain forests, one of the world's few temperate rain forests. Chiloé National Park (Parque Nacional de Chiloé) is located on the Island's western shore and includes part of the coastal range. The rainforests are made up of evergreen southern beech (Nothofagus), and several native conifers, including the magnificent alerce (Fitzroya cupressoides). In geography, temperate latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. ... The Valdivian temperate rain forests are a terrestrial ecoregion located on the west coast of southern South America, in Chile and extending into a small part of Argentina. ... Species   Nothofagus alpina - Rauli Beech   Nothofagus antarctica - Antarctic Beech   Nothofagus betuloides - Magallanes Beech   Nothofagus cunninghamii - Myrtle Beech   Nothofagus dombeyi - Coigüe Beech   Nothofagus fusca - Red Beech   Nothofagus gunnii - Tanglefoot Beech   Nothofagus menziesii - Silver Beech   Nothofagus moorei - Negrohead Beech   Nothofagus obliqua - Roble Beech   Nothofagus pumilio - Lenga Beech   Nothofagus solanderi - Black Beech... Binomial name Fitzroya cupressoides Alerce (Fitzroya cupressoides), also known as Patagonian Cypress, is a large tree in the cypress family (Cupressaceae) of conifers. ...

The eastern shore, in the rain shadow of the interior mountains, is warmer and drier, and home to almost all of Chiloé's population, agriculture, and aquaculture, which includes wheat, potatoes, and Atlantic salmon. Species T. monococcum T. spelta References:   ITIS 42236 2002-09-22 Wheat (Triticum spp) is a grass that is cultivated around the world. ... Binomial name Solanum tuberosum L. The potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a perennial plant of the Solanaceae, or nightshade, family, grown for its starchy tuber. ... Binomial name Salmo salar Linnaeus, 1758 Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar, from the Latin words Salmo meaning salmon, and salar meaning leaper) is a species of fish in the Salmonidae found in the northern Atlantic Ocean and in rivers that flow into the Atlantic. ...

Demographics

The population of the province with its ten municipalities according to the 2002 census was 154,775; of this, 44% lived in rural areas, according to the Instituto Nacional de Estadisticas (INE). Chiloé's people are known as Chilotes. A municipality or general-purpose district (compare with: special-purpose district) is an administrative local area generally composed of a clearly defined territory and commonly referring to a city, town, or village government. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A census is the process of obtaining information about every member of a population (not necessarily a human population). ...

Chiloé's first known inhabitants are the Mapuche, who, together with related peoples, inhabited most of Central Chile before European settlement. Spain established a settlement at Castro in 1567, which later became the seat of a Jesuit mission, and was capital of the province until the founding of Ancud in 1768. Chiloé was separated from the rest of Chile by Mapuche territory, and was the last stronghold of Spanish loyalists in the Chilean war of independence; it was not conquered by Chile until the 1826 military expedition led by Ramon Freire, after a prior expedition led by Lord Cochrane failed. Charles Darwin visited during the summer of 1834–1835, writing about his impressions of southern Chile in his diaries [1] (http://charles-darwin.classic-literature.co.uk/the-voyage-of-the-beagle/ebook-page-133.asp). Whaling, fishing, agriculture, and timber were the mainstays of the island economy. The cathedral in Ancud was totally destroyed and Castro was badly damaged by the Great Chilean Earthquake of 1960, widely considered to be the most powerful ever recorded. In 1982, the provincial capital, after over 200 years, was returned to Castro. The Mapuche are the pre-Hispanic inhabitants of Central and Southern Chile and Argentina. ... Events The Duke of Alva arrives in the Netherlands with Spanish forces to suppress unrest there. ... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ... 1768 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1826 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Ramón Freire Serrano (1787 – 1851) was a Chilean political figure. ... Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald (14 December 1775–October 31, 1860) was a politician and naval adventurer. ... Charles Darwin, about the same time as the publication of The Origin of Species. ... 1834 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... HMS Beagle, from an 1841 watercolour by Owen Stanley The Voyage of the Beagle refers to the survey expedition of the ship HMS Beagle under captain Robert FitzRoy which set out on 27 December 1831. ... The crew of the oceanographic research vessel Princesse Alice, of Albert Grimaldi (later Prince Albert I of Monaco) pose while flensing a catch Whaling is the hunting and killing of whales. ... The Great Chilean Earthquake of May 22, 1960 is the largest magnitude earthquake in recorded history. ... 1960 was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1982 is a number and represents a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar Events January-February January 6 - William Bonin is convicted of being the freeway killer. January 8 - AT&T agrees to divest itself of twenty-two subdivisions January 11 - Mark Thatcher, son of the British...

Culture

In part because of its physical isolation from the rest of Chile, Chiloé has a very special architecture and local culture. They have a rich folklore with many mythological animals and spirits (La Pincoya, El Trauco, El Caleuche, etc.). The Spanish, who arrived in the 16th century, and Jesuit missionaries who followed, constructed hundreds of small wooden churches in an attempt to bring God to a pagan land; the result was a mixing of Catholicism and pagan beliefs. These unique buildings have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ... The term God is ordinarily used to designate a singular, universal Supreme Being. ... This article considers Catholicism in the broadest ecclesiastical sense. ... UNESCO logo The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, commonly known as UNESCO, is a specialized agency of the United Nations system established in 1946. ... Elabana Falls is in Lamington National Park, part of the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves World Heritage site in Queensland, Australia. ...

External Links

• Research at Chiloé Rain Forest (http://www.planetavivo.org/english/ResearchPrograms/ChiloeForest/SlideShows/DiapoMartin/DiapoMartin1.html)