Illapel

Illapel
City and Commune
Flag Coat of arms Location of Illapel commune in the Coquimbo Region Illapel Location in Chile
Coordinates: 31°38′S 71°10′W
Country	Chile
Region	Coquimbo
Province	Choapa
Founded	1752
Government [1]
• Type	Municipality
• Alcalde	Denis Cortés Vargas (IND/JPM)
Area [2]
• Total	2,629.1 km^2 (1,015.1 sq mi)
Elevation	388 m (1,273 ft)
Population  (2012 Census)[2]
• Total	30,074
• Density	11/km^2 (30/sq mi)
• Urban	21,826
• Rural	8,529
Demonym	Illapelino
Sex [2]
• Men	14,940
• Women	15,415
Time zone	UTC−4 (CLT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−3 (CLST)
Area code	56 + 53
Climate	BSk
Website	Official website (in Spanish)

Illapel (Spanish pronunciation: [i.ʝa.ˈpel]) is a Chilean city, which is the capital of the Choapa Province, Coquimbo Region. It lies along the Illapel River and marks the country's narrowest point along a parallel (94 km). It is located to the east of Los Vilos.

Administration

As a commune, Illapel 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 was Denis Cortés Vargas (IND/JPM).^[1]

Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Illapel is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Adriana Muñoz (PDC) and Luis Lemus (Ind.) as part of the 9th electoral district, (together with Combarbalá, Punitaqui, Monte Patria, Salamanca, Los Vilos, Canela). The commune is represented in the Senate by Evelyn Matthei Fornet (UDI) and Jorge Pizarro Soto (PDC) as part of the 4th senatorial constituency (Coquimbo Region).

Demographics

According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Illapel spans an area of 2,629.1 km² (1,015 sq mi) and has 30,355 inhabitants (14,940 men and 15,415 women). Of these, 21,826 (71.9%) lived in urban areas and 8,529 (28.1%) in rural areas. The population grew by 4.6% (1,348 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.^[2]

Earthquake of September 16, 2015

Main article: 2015 Illapel earthquake

On September 16, 2015, at 22:54:33 UTC (19:54:33 local time), a great earthquake of magnitude 8.3 hit the area, with an epicenter 46 km (29 mi) west of Illapel.^[3] The earthquake caused physical damage, the loss of human lives, forced the evacuation of one million people from the coast (some sources mistakenly claimed a million people evacuated from Santiago), and a tsunami warning was issued for parts of South America, Hawaii, California and French Polynesia. Copper prices spiked in early trading, on fears of supply disruption.^[4]

See also

• Las Chinchillas National Reserve

References

1. "Municipality of Illapel" (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 July 2010.
2. "National Statistics Institute" (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 November 2010.
3. Global Earthquake Epicenters. "Map of the earthquake M8.3 – 46km W of Illapel, Chile 2015-09-16 22:54:33 UTC". Geographic.org. Retrieved 2015-09-17.
4. Anthony Esposito (17 September 2015). "Powerful quake hits off coast of Chile, some coastal flooding". Reuters. Retrieved 2015-09-17.

External links

• (in Spanish) Municipality of Illapel
• (in Spanish) Comercioillapel.com Tu Brujula del Valle del Choapa