Linares, Chile

**Linares** is a Chilean city and commune in the Maule Region, in the Chilean Central Valley. Linares is the capital city of the province of Linares.

## History

Linares was founded on 23 May 1794, as the "Villa de San Ambrosio de Linares" by Ambrosio O'Higgins, father of Bernardo O'Higgins. O'Higgins was then "Captain General" (a military governor) of Chile and Francisco de la Mata Linares was the Governor of Concepción.

In 1873, the province of Linares was created from the old province of Maule; it had three departments: Linares, Parral and Loncomilla.

In 1927, Linares was eliminated as a province and became part of the new province of Maule but, in 1936, Linares was made again a province with the same departments. When the regions were created in 1975, the Maule region was formed with the Curicó, Linares, Maule and Talca provinces.

## Population

(last national census), there were 83,249 people (40,518 men and 42,731 women) living in the commune. The population density was  inhabitants/km². The urban population was 68,224 persons ( of the total).

The people from Linares are called _Linarenses_, both men and women.

## Geography

The commune has an area of  and the city proper, .

The city of Linares is at  south of Santiago and  south of Talca, the regional capital.

The rivers Ancoa, Putagán and Achibueno are the main rivers that flow through the commune or form its natural borders.

Most of the territory of the commune is within the central plain (_Valle Central de Chile_). Some low hills are in the most western part of the commune, while its most eastern part is marked by the presence of the foothills of the Andes mountains.

The commune of Linares is bordered on the west by San Javier; on the north by Villa Alegre, Yerbas Buenas and Colbún; on the east, by Colbún, and on the south, by Longaví.

## Climate

The climate of Linares is a mild Mediterranean climate, **Csb** in the Köppen climate classification.

The average amount of precipitation for the year in Linares is . The month with the most precipitation on average is June with  of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is February with an average of .

The average temperature for the year in Linares is . The warmest month, on average, is January with an average temperature of . The coolest month on average is July, with an average temperature of .

## Main sights

The city and its surroundings have many attractions, for example:

- The **Cathedral Church of San Ambrosio** de Linares. The Cathedral of Linares was built after the old cathedral had been destroyed by an earthquake..
- The **Corazón de María ("Heart of Mary") church: a church declared a National Monument for its Gothic style and beauty
- The **Museo de Arte y Artesanía''' (Museum of Arts and Crafts)

Some natural attractions in the surrounding area include the piedmont of the Andes mountains, with forests of pines and other trees; lakes (the artificial Colbún lake); rivers, and good camping and hiking areas.

## Economy

Linares is an important agricultural, industrial and financial center of the region.

## Administration

The mayor of Linares is Mario Meza Vásquez (RN).

The members of the communal council are the following:

- Christian González Monsalve (RN)
- Cinthia Labraña Villalobos (RN)
- Favio Vargas Aguilera (RN)
- Luis Concha Guerrero (Ind-RN)
- Leonardo Alfaro Valdés (PLR)
- Marcelo Campos Vergara (Ind-D)
- Eduardo Ibáñez Núñez (Ind-PPD)
- Lenin Fuentes Barros (PCCh)

## Related pages

- Communes of Chile
- Provinces of Chile
- List of mayors of Linares (Chile)

## Other websites

- Territorial division of Chile
- Gobierno Regional del Maule  Official website
- Province of Linares website
- Municipality of Linares

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Linares
- **native name lang**: es
- **settlement type**: City and Communes of Chile, Commune
- **image skyline**: Catedral de Linares Imagen 007.jpg
- **image alt**: Linares cathedral
- **image caption**: Cathedral of Linares
- **image flag**: Bandera de Linares (Chile).svg
- **flag alt**: Flag
- **image shield**: Escudo de Linares (Chile).svg
- **shield alt**: Coat of arms
- **image map**: Comuna de Linares.svg
- **map alt**: Location in the Maule Region
- **map caption**: Location in the Maule Region
- **pushpin map**: Chile
- **pushpin map narrow**: yes
- **pushpin label position**: bottom
- **pushpin map alt**: Location in Chile
- **pushpin map caption**: Location in Chile
- **established title**: Founded
- **established date**: 23 May 1794
- **established title1**: Founded as
- **established date1**: _Villa de San Ambrosio de Linares_
- **subdivision type**: List of sovereign states, Country
- **subdivision name**: Chile
- **subdivision type1**: Regions of Chile, Region
- **subdivision name1**: Maule Region, Maule
- **subdivision type2**: Provinces of Chile, Province
- **subdivision name2**: Linares Province, Linares
- **government type**: Municipality
- **leader title**: Mayor
- **leader name**: Mario Meza, Mario Meza Vásquez
- **unit pref**: Metric
- **area total km2**: 1465.7
- **elevation m**: 165
- **population total**: 83249
- **population as of**: 2002
- **population density km2**: auto
- **population blank1 title**: Urban area, Urban
- **population blank1**: 68224
- **population blank2 title**: Rural area, Rural
- **population blank2**: 15025
- **population demonym**: _Linarense_
- **timezone**: Time in Chile, CLT
- **utc offset**: -4
- **timezone dst**: Time in Chile, CLST
- **utc offset dst**: -3
- **postal code type**: Postal code
- **postal code**: 3580000
- **website**: [http://www.munilinares.cl/ Official website]