Huasco Province

Huasco Province Spanish: Provincia de Huasco) is one of three provinces of the northern Chilean region of Atacama (III). Its capital is the city of Vallenar.

Huasco Province Provincia de Huasco
Province
Seal Copiapó, in red, in the Atacama Region Huasco Province Location in Chile
Coordinates: 28°32′S 70°22′W
Country	Chile
Region	Atacama
Capital	Vallenar
Comunas	Alto del Carmen, Freirina, Huasco, Vallenar
Government [1]
• Type	Provincial
• Governor	Alexandra Núñez Sorich
Area [2]
• Total	18,201.5 km2 (7,027.6 sq mi)
Population  (2002 Census)[2]
• Total	66,491
• Density	3.7/km2 (9.5/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-4 (CLT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-3 (CLST)
Area code	56 + 51
Website	Official website

Geography

The Huasco province has an area of 18,201.5 km² (7,027.6 sq mi), the smallest province in the Atacama region.^[2]

Huasco is bordered on the north by the Copiapó province, on the east by Argentina, on the south by the Coquimbo region and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.

The main river of the province is the Huasco river that is 88 km (54.7 mi) long.^[3] In the valley of the river, fruits, including grapes, are grown.

Population

As of 2002^[update] (last national census), there were 6,649 people living in the province, giving it a population density of 3.7 inhabitants/km².^[2]

The largest city of the province is Vallenar, its capital, with a population, in 2002, of 48,040 inhabitants in the commune.

Administration

As a province, Huasco is a second-level administrative division, consisting of four communes (comunas). The city of Vallenar serves as the provincial capital. The province is administered by a governor.

The Huasco province, in the bottom

Huasco province

Code	Comuna	Capital	Area[2] (km²)	Population[2] (2002)
03301	9 Vallenar	Vallenar	7,083.7	48,040
03302	6 Alto del Carmen	Alto del Carmen	5,938.7	4,840
03303	7 Freirina	Freirina	3,577.7	5,666
03202	8 Huasco	Huasco	1,601.4	7,945
Total of the Huasco province			18,201.5	66,491

References

1. "Conozca a la Gobernadora". Gobernación - Provincia de Huasco (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 August 2016.
2. "Región de Atacama" (PDF). Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 November 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
3. "Cuenca del río Huasco" (PDF). Dirección General de Aguas. December 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2016.

Other websites

• Territorial division of Chile (in Spanish)
• Gobierno Regional de Atacama Official website (in Spanish)
• Province of Huasco website (in Spanish)