Maule Region

The Maule Region (from Mapudungun: mau leuvu 'rain river') is one of the sixteen regions into which the Republic of Chile is divided. Its capital is Talca, a city located in the center of the region. Maule, located in the center of the country, borders to the north with the O'Higgins Region, to the east with the provinces of Mendoza and Neuquén belonging to Argentina, to the south with the Ñuble Region and to the west with the Pacific Ocean. With 1,044,950 inhabitants. in 2017, it is the fourth most populated region in the country, behind the Santiago Metropolitan, Valparaíso and Biobío regions.

The name of the region comes from the Maule River, whose basin occupies a large part of the regional surface. It has an area of 30,269.1 km² and a population of 1,044,950 inhabitants, according to the INE. The region is made up of the provinces of Cauquenes, Curicó, Linares and Talca, and the regional capital is the city of Talca. Every July 30 the "Day of the Maule Region" is celebrated. Its main urban center is the city of Talca with 220,357 inhabitants, followed by Curicó with 149,136 inhabitants, according to the 2017 Chilean census.

Official symbols

Flag

The flag and the shield of the Maule Region are the symbols of this region, although only the latter is official.

Shield

It is the official emblem of the region and its government has been in force since July 30, 2002.

The regional emblem consists of a Spanish coat of arms quartered with a blue border:

• First quarter: in silver field, an oak in its color. (the representative hualo tree of the area)
• Second barracks: in the field of gold a book in its color on which there is a silver pen. (In honor of several regional writers (Max Jara, Pablo Neruda, etc.).
• Third barracks: in the field of ghettos four silver lines broken in chevron (represent the mountains of the Andes Mountains.
• Fourth barracks: a siple field on sea waves in sugar and silver.

Adorning the coat of arms is a gold badge signed with the motto: "Maule"

Anthem

The region has an official anthem that praises the rural tradition and its importance during the country's independence period.

Government and administration

Political-administrative division

The Maule region, whose capital is the city of Talca, for government and internal administration purposes, is divided into four provinces.

• Province of Cauquenescapital Cauquenes.
• Province of Curicó, capital Curicó.
• Linares Province, capital Linares.
• Talca ProvinceTalca capital.

While these three provinces are subdivided into 30 communes ―Cauquenes, Chanco, Pelluhue, Curicó, Hualañé, Licantén, Molina, Rauco, Romeral, Sagrada Familia, Teno, Vichuquén, Colbún, Linares, Longaví, Parral, Retiro, San Javier de Loncomilla, Villa Alegre, Yerbas Buenas, Constitución, Curepto, Empedrado, Maule, Pelarco, Pencahue, Río Claro, San Clemente, San Rafael and Talca―.

Province Capital Commune Cauquenes Cauquenes Cauquenes Chanco Pelluhue Curicó Curicó Curicó Hualañe Licantén Molina Rauco Romeral Sagrada Familia Teno Vichuquén Linares Linares Coal Linares Longaví Parral Retirement San Javier Villa Alegre Yerbas Good Talca Talca Constitution Curepto Emped Maule Pelarco Pencahue Rio San Clemente San Rafael Talca

Cauquenes Chanco Pelluhue Curicó Hualañe Licantén Molina Rauco Romeral Sagrada Familia Teno Vichuquén Coal Linares Longaví Parral Retirement San Javier de Loncomilla Villa Alegre Yerbas Good Constitution Curepto Emped Maule Pelarco Pencahue Rio San Clemente San Rafael Talca

Authorities

The administration of the region of the executive power resides in the Regional Government of Maule, made up of the Governor of Maule and the Regional Council, in addition to the presence of the regional Presidential Delegate of Maule and the Provincial Presidential Delegate of Curicó, the Provincial Presidential Delegate of Linares and the Provincial Presidential Delegate of Cauquenes, representatives of the country's central government.

For the purposes of local administration, the provinces are divided into 30 communes: Cauquenes, Chanco, Pelluhue, Curicó, Hualañé, Licantén, Molina, Rauco, Romeral, Sagrada Familia, Teno, Vichuquén, Colbún, Linares, Longaví, Parral, Retiro, San Javier de Loncomilla, Villa Alegre, Yerbas Buenas, Constitución, Curepto, Empedrado, Maule, Pelarco, Pencahue, Río Claro, San Clemente, San Rafael and Talca—total governed by their respective municipalities.

The legislative power is represented and divided territorially through the 9th constituency of the Chilean Senate, made up of five senators and both the 17th electoral district -made up of seven deputies- and the 18th electoral district of the Chamber of Deputies -composed of four deputies-, who represent the citizens of the region.

Geography

Its territory occupies an area of 30,269 km², so its extension can be compared with that of countries such as Lesotho or Belgium.

The relief of the region is divided into the following geomorphological zones: Andes mountain range, intermediate depression, Coastal mountain range and coastal plains.

The Andes have an average height of 3500 m s. no. m. Its maximum heights are: the Peteroa volcano (4101 masl), the Campanario hill (4049 masl), the Planchón volcano (3977 masl), the Descabezado Grande volcano (3830 masl), the Azul hill (3788 masl) and the San Pedro-Pellado volcano (3621 masl). The foothills sector, started in San Fernando, is still present. In this last area there are tourist sectors such as the Radal Siete Tazas National Park or the Altos de Lircay National Reserve.

The intermediate depression, also known as the central plain, is located between the Andes mountain range and the Coastal mountain range, with the appearance of a gently undulating plain, which has been filled with sediments from volcanism, fluvial action and glacial processes.

The Coastal Range presents itself with an average height of 500 masl, with its highest heights being Gupo (879 masl), Name (824 masl) and Nirivilo (731 masl) hills. In it there is a presence of forestry, agricultural and forestry activities. To the south of the Maule River, this macroform is divided into ridges that run parallel to each other, forming different types of valleys between them. Meanwhile, the coastal plains are extensive and give life to activities such as fishing in the Constitución sector. Rivers such as the Mataquito and the Maule flow into the coast and there are lakes such as the Vichuquén, attractive for the tourism sector. Likewise, on the seafront there are numerous summer resorts that are poles of attraction for a large number of tourists, both from within the region and from other regions. Among them, the following stand out: Iloca, Constitución, Pelluhue and Curanipe.

Hydrography

The Maule Region has two hydrographic systems: the Mataquito River to the north and the Maule River in the center. The Mataquito river is of a mixed regime and its tributaries are the Teno and Lontué rivers. It has a hydrographic basin with a surface area of 6,200 km² and the average flow is 153 m³/s. It flows into the sea to the south of the Vichuquén lagoon. Its waters are used to irrigate crops in the valley, covering an irrigated area of 100,000 hectares.

The Maule River is one of the most important in the country. Its hydrographic basin covers an area of 20,300 km² and has an average flow of 467 m³/s. It is born in the Cordillera de los Andes and has as tributaries in its upper course the rivers Puelche, Los Cipreses, Claro and Melado; in the Longitudinal Valley it has the Loncomilla river as tributaries, to finally flow into the sea in Constitución with a width of 200 m.

The waters of the Maule are used to irrigate agricultural land, but its greatest importance lies in its use for the production of hydroelectric energy at the Cipreses power plant (101,400 kW of power), the Isla Power Plant (68,000 kW of power), the Curillinque Power Plant (89,000 kW of power), the Loma Alta Power Plant (40,000 kW of power).

At the same time and before the Maule River enters the Colbún Reservoir, the product of a great engineering work is the Pehuenche Central with 500,000 kW of installed power.

It is worth highlighting the Colbún reservoir, whose Colbún hydroelectric plant has an installed capacity of 400,000 kW, in addition to the Machicura plant with an installed capacity of 90,000 kW, which significantly increases the irrigation area in the region.

Climate

The Maule Region has a temperate Mediterranean climate with a dry and rainy season of equal duration, which marks the beginning of the south-central zone of Chile. Summers are usually hot and dry, contrary to winters that are usually rainy and cool, with frequent frosts influenced by the continental effect. Rainfall ranges from 700 mm in the valleys to 2,140 mm in the Maulina mountain range. The general average temperature in summer is 20 °C, which shows a large number of sunny days and a large number of daylight hours. Winters are mild with average temperatures of 7 °C in the valleys, reaching temperatures as low as -5 °C in cities such as Talca or Linares. Snow is common in the pre-Andean and Andean sectors, which are the main irrigation tributary, for agriculture during the summer period.

Average Talca climate parameters
Month	Ene.	Feb.	Mar.	Open up.	May.	Jun.	Jul.	Ago.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.	Annual
Average temperature (°C)	33.3	32.5	28.8	21.5	15.4	8.4	7.1	8.3	11.1	17.6	25.4	29.7	21.7
Temp. medium (°C)	21.4	20.9	17.8	7.5	6.3	2.1	0.2	0.5	3.8	6.6	12.6	18.9	8.1
Total precipitation (mm)	4	3.9	13.3	33.8	115.8	146.2	155.1	85.9	53.1	34.3	19.4	11.5	676.2
Source: CITRA

Geographic landmarks

Demographics

Number of inhabitants

According to estimates by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), the Maule Region has a population of close to 1,044,950 inhabitants. The most populous city in the region is Talca (220,357 inhabitants), followed by Curicó (149,136 inhab.) and Linares (93,602 inhab.)

Other populated cities are: Cauquenes (50,441 inhabitants), Constitución (46,068 inhabitants), Molina (45,976 inhabitants), San Javier (45,547 inhabitants), San Clemente (43,269 inhabitants), and Parral (41,637 inhab.).^{[citation required]}

Population density

The average density of the Maule Region is 34.49 inhabitants/km², with less dense areas towards the Maulina mountain range, and denser areas in the central valleys of Maule.

Breakdown by age and sex

According to the composition pyramid, the population under 15 years of age gains more importance than adults.^{[citation required]}

Bartality, mortality and life expectancy

Annual growth rate in Maule is 1.06%, this low figure is due to the low birth rate in the region. The average life expectancy in Maule is 76.3 years^{[citation required]}

Means of transportation

Roads

The main highway that connects the Maule Region with the other regions of the country is Route 5 South, which passes through the provinces of Curicó, Talca and Linares, in its sections Autopista del Maipo and Autopista del Maule.

Other important routes that pass through this area are Route CH-126, called Ruta de los Conquistadores, which begins near San Javier and passes through Cauquenes and ends in Quirihue; Route CH-115, an international route that leads to Paso Pehuenche; Route CH-128 (Cauquenes-Parral), among others.

The region has two border crossings: Paso Vergara, with a gravel road open in the summer season in the province of Curicó, and Paso Pehuenche, with a completely paved road and open all year in the province of Talca.

Railroads

The railway network in Maule depends on the company EFE (Empresas de Ferrocarriles del Estado), this state company is in charge of transporting cargo and passengers.

In the Maule Region there are train stations in Curicó, Molina, Talca, San Javier, Linares and Parral. In addition to the Talca-Constitución branch.

Buses

The following are the bus terminals located in the four provincial capitals of the region:

• Curicó: Rural Terminal and Tur Bus

• Talca: Terminal Lorenzo Varoli and Tur Bus.

• Linares: Rural Terminal Pullman Bus and Linatal.

• Cauquenes: Rodoviary Terminal

Economy

The economy of this region is specialized in forestry, agricultural and livestock activities, which contribute more than 32% of the regional gross geographic product, and in electricity generation.

Traditional crops, such as wheat and potatoes, have shown a decrease in favor of industrial crops, such as beets. Another crop of great regional development is rice.

Fruit growing takes place in privileged climatic conditions. Of the total regional area devoted to fruit trees, 90% corresponds to industrial orchards, with species such as red and green apples, pears, cherries, and table grapes. Also in the Maule Region is 40% of the area planted with vineyards and grapevines in the country.

In the area of forestry, the region is characterized by the export of standing forest (unprocessed wood, such as roundwood and metro ruma) and by industrialized products. In this area, the Licancel Plant of the company Celulosa Arauco y Constitución has meant a stimulus for the production of wood in the region.

Industrial activity is an important item, because it fluctuates between second and third place in the regional gross domestic product. In the fishing field, fishing is practiced mainly for self-consumption and is artisanal.

Energy is an important source of activity. In the region there are seven electricity generation plants, both hydroelectric and thermoelectric, which together have a capacity to produce approximately 4,952.3 GWh, which makes it the first national electricity generator.

In 2018, the number of companies registered in the Maule region was 24,495. The Economic Complexity Index (ECI) in the same year was 0.03, while the economic activities with the highest Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) index were Glass Recycling (37.87), Uranium and Thorium Ore Extraction (37.87) and Cultivation of Industrial Vegetable Fibers (37.87).

Health

The Maule Health Service is the body in charge of health in Maule. It depends on the Ministry of Health through the Undersecretariat of Assistance Networks.

Its main function is to manage the health network in the Maule Region, which is made up of 13 hospitals and 30 health departments.

The SSM was created by Decree Law No. 2763 of August 3, 1979, when the National Health Services System was put into operation, but it came into force on August 1, 1980.

Illustrious people

• Arturo Alessandri
• Sotero del Río
• Carlos Díaz Loyola (Pablo de Rokha)
• Esmeralda González Letelier (Guadalupe del Carmen)
• Carlos Ibáñez del Campo
• Mario Kreutzberger (Don Francisco)
• Valentin Letelier
• Margot Loyola
• Pablo Neruda
• Hernán Rivera Letelier
• Raúl Silva Henríquez
• Antonio Varas
• Luis Cruz Martínez
• Eleodoro Campos

Gastronomy

Maulina gastronomy has great Creole influence, among the most characteristic dishes are humitas, corn cake, tomaticán and charquicán. These dishes are typical of summer, which is characterized by the large production of corn, tomatoes and vegetables in general. In winter, as the climate is colder and more humid, hot and caloric foods are preferred, such as roast lamb, Chilean empanadas, casserole, carbonada and beans.

Universities

The region has two large universities: Universidad de Talca and Universidad Católica del Maule, both belonging to the Council of Rectors. Both the University of Talca and the Catholic University of Maule have their central campus in Talca, although they have offices in Curicó and Linares. According to the annual classification carried out by the newspaper La Tercera, the University of Talca is the eighth best university in the country, giving the city of Talca no less relevance in academic development activities at the national level.

In addition, within the region there are other smaller private universities such as the Autónoma, Los Lagos, Arturo Prat, Bolivarian and Santo Tomás, as well as Technical Training Centers, Professional Institutes, among others.

Sports

All municipalities have their own municipal or private sports complexes.

The most popular and practiced sport throughout the national territory is soccer. ANFA Maule and the local soccer associations are in charge of organizing amateur soccer and the different championships at the community and regional level.

In the professional and semi-professional field, the most important teams in the area are Curicó Unido of the First Division, Rangers de Talca of the First B, Independiente de Cauquenes of the Second Professional Division of Chile and Deportes Linares of the Third A

Other sports such as basketball, the most important team is the Spanish team from Talca, winner of 1 Dimayor tournament and 3 National Leagues, the city of Curicó also has a Liceo Curicó basketball team, former representative of the city in Dimayor and now playing in Libcentro A.

Regarding infrastructure, the region has two “Class B” stadiums: the Fiscal de Talca Stadium and the La Granja Stadium, belonging to the National Sports Institute (IND) and the municipality of Curicó, respectively. Both are the most important in the region, hosting athletics, soccer, and rugby competitions, among others.