Colbún

Colbún

Founded	December 30, 1927,
Original Name	Colbún
Region	Maule Region
Area  - Municipality	2,900 km²
Population  - Municipality (estimated)  - Density (municipality)	17.000 Inhabitants 5.9 /km²
Time zone	Santiago Time Zone, UTC- 4
Telephone Prefix	73
Postal code	3610000
Gentilic	Colbunense
Mayor	Hans Heyer (RN) (2004-2008)
Location of Colbún commune in the Maule Region of Chile.

Colbún (in mapudungun: cleaning of the land) is a Chilean town located in the , Colbún communeof Linares Province in the Region of Maule. The municipality of Colbún administers the commune which has a population of over 17,000 inhabitants and covers an area of 2,900 km², making it the largest in Linares province. Its capital, the town of Colbún, has 3,679 inhabitants (2002 census).

Geography

The Colbún commune is bordered on the west by Yerbas Buenas; on the southwest by Linares and Longaví; on the north by San Clemente, (Talca Province); on the east and southeast, by the Argentine Republic, and on the south, by Parral and San Fabián; the latter in Ñuble Province. The municipality of Colbún occupies the easternmost strip of the Province of Linares, which boasts some of the highest provincial peaks and the headwaters of several provincial rivers.

Geographical coordinates of the town of Colbún

• Latitude: 35° 42' 0S
• Longitude: 71° 25' 0W
• Altitude: 239 mt.

Foundation

The municipality of Colbún was officially founded December 30, 1927. Prior to that date the municipality was called Panimávida which was based in that town. The municipality of Panimávida had been founded May 6, 1906.

Local Administration

The mayor of Colbún is Hans Heyer González (RN) and the councillors are:

• Rodrigo Muñoz Marín (Independent Communist)
• Samuel Álvarez Cerda (RN)
• Orgides Araya Carrera (RN)
• Jorge Antonio Dedes Franco (UDI)
• María Riveros Medina (PRSD)
• Hernán Núñez Ramos (PPD)

Attractions

In the municipality there are two well-known Chilean spas: the "Termas de Quinamávida" and the "Termas de Panimávida". In addition, the municipality concentrates the hydroelectric industry of the province, with the important power stations of Colbún and Machicura. The Colbún dam lake is a centre for recreation and water sports although these are highly dependent on water levels, which tend to be erratic.

Local customs

Crafts

Near Panimávida lies the village of Rari, famous for its unique crafts made of horse hair.

External links

• Aerial view of an area of the municipality of Colbún Shows the larger Colbún dam lake, to the north-east and the Machicura dam lake to the south-west.
• Aerial view of the city of Colbún (Google maps)
• Aerial view of Panimávida (Google maps)

Coordinates: 35°42′S, 71°25′W

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