Elqui Province

**Elqui Province** () is one of three provinces in the Chilean region of Coquimbo (IV). Its capital is the city of Coquimbo.

It is named after the main river of the province: the Elqui River river.

## Geography

The Elqui province has an area of , the largest province in the Coquimbo region.

Elqui is bordered on the north by the Atacama region (Huasco province), on the east by Argentina, on the south by the Limarí province and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.

The main river of the province is the Elqui river that is  long. In the valley of the river, fruits, including grapes, are grown.

## Population

(last national census), there were 365,371 people living in the province, giving it a population density of  inhabitants/km², the province of the region with more people living in it.

The largest city of the province is La Serena with a population, in 2002, of 160,148 inhabitants.

## Administration

As a province, Elqui is a second-level administrative division, consisting of six communes (_comunas_). The city of Coquimbo serves as the provincial capital. The province is administered by a governor.

|Code|Comuna|Capital|Area <small>(km²)</small>|Population <small>(2002)</small>|||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|04101|**8** La Serena|La Serena|align="right"|1,892.8|align="right"|160,148|
|04102|**6** Coquimbo|Coquimbo|align="right"|1,429.3|align="right"|163,036|
|04103|**5** Andacollo|Andacollo|align="right"|310.3|align="right"|10,288|
|04104|**7** La Higuera|La Higuera|align="right"|4,158.2|align="right"|3,721|
|04105|**9** Paihuano|Paihuano|align="right"|1,494.7|align="right"|4,168|
|04106|**10** Vicuña|Vicuña|align="right"|7,609.8|align="right"|24,010|
|colspan=3 align="right"|**Total**|align="right"|16,895.1|align="right"|365,371||

## Other websites

- Territorial division of Chile
- Gobierno Regional de Coquimbo Official website
- Province of Elqui website

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Elqui Province
- **native name**: Provincia de Elqui
- **native name lang**: es
- **settlement type**: Provinces of Chile, Province
- **image seal**: Logotipo de la Gobernación de Elqui.svg
- **image map**: Provincia de Elqui.svg
- **mapsize**: 160px
- **map alt**: Location in the Coquimbo Region
- **map caption**: Elqui, in red, in the Coquimbo Region
- **pushpin map**: Chile
- **pushpin map narrow**: yes
- **pushpin label position**: bottom
- **pushpin map caption**: Location in Chile
- **subdivision type**: List of sovereign states, Country
- **subdivision type1**: Regions of Chile, Region
- **subdivision name1**: Coquimbo Region, Coquimbo
- **parts type**: Communes of Chile, Comunas
- **parts style**: para
- **p1**: Andacollo
- **p2**: Coquimbo
- **p3**: La Higuera, Chile, La Higuera
- **p4**: La Serena, Chile, La Serena
- **p5**: Paihuano
- **p6**: Vicuña, Chile, Vicuña
- **seat type**: Capital city, Capital
- **seat**: Coquimbo
- **government type**: Province, Provincial
- **leader title**: Governor
- **leader name**: Américo Giovine Oyarzún
- **unit pref**: Metric
- **area total km2**: 16895.1
- **population total**: 365371
- **population as of**: 2002 Census
- **population density km2**: auto
- **timezone**: Time in Chile, CLT
- **utc offset**: -4
- **timezone dst**: Time in Chile, CLST
- **utc offset dst**: -3
- **area code**: 56 + 51
- **website**: [http://www.gobernacionelqui.gov.cl/ Official website]