Huerta de Maule, Chile

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Huerta de Maule. Village of the municipality ("comuna") of San Javier, in Province of Linares, Maule Region of Chile. This picturesque and bucolic place, with a current permanent population of no more than 300, used to have far more importance and population two centuries ago, having been a strategic place because of its location at the south of the Maule river and west of the Loncomilla River in central Chile, over the busy, old colonial route from Santiago - Talca to Concepción.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demography
4 Climate
5 Sources
6 External sources

[edit] History

Huerta de Maule was founded officially with the name of "San Antonio de Florida" in 1754 although a settlement already existed there since the second half of the 17th Century, originally associated to the presence of a Franciscan Monastery, and, according to tradition, further encouraged by the discovery of gold in its environs. Typically, the inhabitants of Chile's Maule Region in colonial times were strongly rooted to their haciendas and, for a long time, there was strong resistance by the population to leave the rural areas and small villages and move to the cities. As in other villages of the region, in Huerta de Maule, the productive agricultural and commercial activities kept the place alive and relatively wealthy.

[edit] Geography

Huerta de Maule lies in the foothills of a low-altitude chain of the "Cordillera de la Costa" in Central Chile, west of the Loncomilla river and the Gupo hill, and southwest of the town of San Javier, Chile.

Coordinates:

Latitude: -35.6667; DMS: 35° 40' 0S
Longitude: -71.9500; DMS: 71° 57' 0W
Altitude (meters): 496

[edit] Demography

According to the 1992 census, Huerta de Maule had a population of 308, which had fallen to less than 270, in 2002. The area surrounding Huerta de Maule is sparsely populated. Within a radio of seven miles from the place there live a mere 2,000 people.

[edit] Climate

The climate of the zone is temperate, with an average temperature of 14.4 °C and an average annual precipitation of 680 mm concentrated between the months of June and August.

[edit] Sources

[edit] External sources

Maule Region
Cities	Cauquenes \| Constitución \| Curicó \| Molina \| Linares \| Parral \| San Javier \| Talca \| Teno \| Curepto
Universities	Universidad de Talca \| Universidad Católica del Maule \| Universidad de Los Lagos
Culture & Sports	La Prensa de Curicó \| Club Provincial Curicó Unido \| Rangers