Chile Chico


Chile Chico is a town in General Carrera Province, Aisén Region, Patagonia, Chile. It is located on the south shore of General Carrera Lake. Chile Chico, which has around 3,000 inhabitants, is the eponymous capital of the commune and capital of the General Carrera Province of the Aysén Region.
The town is west of the border with Argentina and 8 km from the Argentine town of Los Antiguos, with which it is connected by a paved road. A car ferry connects the town with Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez on the north shore of the lake.

Climate

Its rain shadow location gives Chile Chico a mediterranean climate, unusually dry for its latitude with only half the rainfall of Balmaceda nearby and less than a tenth that received at many coastal locations in the Aisén region. Its moderate climate is sometimes compared to Middle Chile but is most similar to that of places like Sequim which lie in a similar westerly wind rain shadow. The record high is on January 2013 and the record low was in July 1982.

Demographics

According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Chile Chico spans an area of and has 4,444 inhabitants. Of these, 3,042 lived in urban areas and 1,402 in rural areas. The population grew by 18.3% between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, Chile Chico is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Luperciano Muñoz González.
Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Chile Chico is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by René Alinco and David Sandoval as part of the 59th electoral district, which includes the entire Aisén Region. The commune is represented in the Senate by Antonio Horvath Kiss and Patricio Walker Prieto as part of the 18th senatorial constituency.