The region of Maule stretches out between the 34°41´ and 36°33´parallels of south latitude and from the 70°20´meridian of longitude west until the Pacific Ocean. Therefore, limits northwards with the Region of the General Liberator Bernardo O´Higgins, southwards with the region of Biobio, eastwards with Argentina and westwards with the Pacific Ocean, It has a surface of 30.2966,1 km2 (corresponding to the 4% of American and Islander Chile).
It has 908.097 inhabitants, that equals the 6% of the total national population and its regional density reaches 30 inhabitants per km2.
Its capital city is Talca and is divided administratively in four provinces, Curico, Talca, Linares and Cauquenes.
Its provinces
As above mentioned, this region is divided in four provinces: Curico, Talca, Linares and Cauquenes.
– Province of Curico: it has a surface of 7.280, 9 km2 and a population of 244.053 inhabitants.
Is integrated by the comunas (counties) of Curico (its capital city), Hualañe, Licanten, Molina, Rauco, Romeral, Sagrada familia, Teno and Vichuquen. Romeral is the one with the largest surface (1.597, 1 km2). The one with the largest amount of inhabitants in urban zones as well as in rural zones is Curico (119.585), while the ones sheltering a minor quantity of people is Vichuquen with only 4.916 inhabitants.
– Province of Talca: it reaches a surface of 9.937,8 km2 and 352.966 people lives in it (277.207in urban zones and 75.759 in rural areas). Is formed by the comunas (counties) of Talca (its capital city), Constitucion, Curepto, Empedrado, Maule, Pelarco, Pencahue, Rio Claro, San Clemente and San Rafael. The San Clemente comuna (county) is the largest (4.503, 5 km2), whilst the smallest is Talca (231, 5 km2). Nevertheless, the latter has the largest quantity of inhabitants; 201.797 persons.
– Province of Linares: it has a population of 252.990 inhabitants and a surface of 10.050,2 km2, comprising the comunas (counties) of Linares (its capital city), Colbun, Longavi, Parral, Retiro, San Javier, Villa Alegre and Yerbas Buenas. The population’s 55%, that is 139.742 persons, inhabits in urban areas and the 45%, 114.248 persons, lives in rural zones. The one with the largest surface is Colbun (2.899, 9 km2) and Villa Alegre is the one with the smallest surface and less inhabitants (189, 8 km2 and 14.725 persons, respectively).
– Province of Cauquenes: is located in the region’s southwest and is the newest since it was founded only in 1975.
It embraces a surface of 3.027,2 km2 and there are 57.088 inhabitants. It has only three coumunas (counties): Cauquenes, (its capital city), Chanco and Pelluhue. Cauquenes is the one with the largest surface (2.126, 3 km2) and the one with the greatest amount of inhabitants (141.217) while Pelluhue, with only 6.414 persons, is the one harboring the smallest amount of people.
Día Mundial del Libro y del Derecho de Autor