Chiloé Island in the context of "Chiloé Archipelago"

Play Trivia Questions online!

or

Skip to study material about Chiloé Island in the context of "Chiloé Archipelago"

Ad spacer

⭐ Core Definition: Chiloé Island

Chiloé Island (Spanish: Isla de Chiloé, pronounced [tʃiloˈe], locally [ʃiloˈe]), also known as Greater Island of Chiloé (Isla Grande de Chiloé), is the largest island of the Chiloé Archipelago off the west coast of Chile, in the Pacific Ocean. The island is located in southern Chile, in the Los Lagos Region.

The island is roughly rectangular. Its southwestern half is a wilderness of contiguous forests and swamps. Mountains form a belt running from the northwestern to the southeastern corner of the island. Cordillera del Piuchén make up the northern mountains and the more subdued Cordillera de Pirulil gathers the southern mountains. The landscape of the northeastern sectors of Chiloé Island is dominated by rolling hills with a mosaic of pastures, forests and cultivated fields. While the western shores are rocky and relatively straight, the eastern and northern shores contain many inlets, bays and peninsulas, and it is here where all towns and cities lie.

↓ Menu

>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<

👉 Chiloé Island in the context of Chiloé Archipelago

The Chiloé Archipelago (Spanish: Archipiélago de Chiloé, pronounced [tʃiloˈe], locally [ʃiloˈe]) is a group of islands lying off the coast of Chile, in the Los Lagos Region. It is separated from mainland Chile by the Chacao Channel in the north, the Sea of Chiloé in the east and the Gulf of Corcovado in the southeast. All islands except the Desertores Islands form Chiloé Province. The main island is Chiloé Island. Of roughly rectangular shape, the southwestern half of this island is a wilderness of contiguous forests, wetlands and, in some places, mountains. The landscape of the northeastern sectors of Chiloé Island and the islands to the east is dominated by rolling hills, with a mosaic of pastures, forests and cultivated fields.

The archipelago is known within Chile for its distinctive folklore, mythology, potatoes, cuisine and unique architecture. The culture of Chiloé is the result of mixing of Huilliche, Spanish and Chono influences in centuries of isolation without much contact with the rest of Chile or the Western World. Its cool temperate climate, abundance of sea resources and large and lush forests have also played a major role in shaping life in the islands.

↓ Explore More Topics
In this Dossier

Chiloé Island in the context of Antarctic Floristic Kingdom

The Antarctic floristic kingdom, also the Holantarctic kingdom, is a floristic kingdom that includes most areas of the world south of 40°S latitude. It was first identified by botanist Ronald Good, and later by Armen Takhtajan. The Antarctic Floristic Kingdom is a classification in phytogeography, different from the Antarctic realm classification in biogeography, and from Antarctic flora genera/species classifications in botany.

↑ Return to Menu

Chiloé Island in the context of Castro, Chile

Castro is a city and commune on Chiloé Island in Chile. Castro is the capital of the Chiloé Province in the Los Lagos Region. The city is located on Estero de Castro on the eastern coast of central Chiloé Island. This position provides Castro with a good access to the eastern islands of Chiloé Archipelago as well as to the open ocean through Cucao and Huillinco to the west.

↑ Return to Menu

Chiloé Island in the context of Gulf of Corcovado

Gulf of Corcovado (Spanish: Golfo de Corcovado) is a large body of water separating the Chiloé Island from the mainland of Chile. Geologically, it is a forearc basin that has been carved out by Quaternary glaciers. Most of the islands of Chiloé Archipelago are located in the gulf. The area is next to the Chiloé National Park.

In colonial times the Gulf of Corcovado was a major obstacle that prevented major contact between the Spanish settlers in Chiloé Archipelago and the southern Chonos living in the archipelagoes of Guaitecas and Chonos. In the early 17th-century, Jesuits rounded the gulf instead of crossing it when traveling south by dalcas from their base in Castro.

↑ Return to Menu

Chiloé Island in the context of Chiloé Province

Chiloé Province (Spanish: Provincia de Chiloé) is one of the four provinces in the southern Chilean region of Los Lagos (X). It consists of all of Chiloé Archipelago (including Chiloé Island) with the exception of the Desertores Islands. The province spans a surface area of 9,181.6 km (3,545 sq mi). Its capital is Castro, and the seat of the Roman Catholic bishopric is Ancud.

↑ Return to Menu

Chiloé Island in the context of Los Lagos Region

Los Lagos Region (Spanish: Región de Los Lagos pronounced [los ˈlaɣos], lit. 'Region of the Lakes') is one of Chile's 16 regions, which are first order administrative divisions, and comprises four provinces: Chiloé, Llanquihue, Osorno and Palena. The region contains the country's second-largest island, Chiloé, and the second-largest lake, Llanquihue. Its capital is Puerto Montt; other important cities include Osorno, Castro, Ancud, and Puerto Varas. Los Lagos Region is considered part of Patagonia.

Historically, the Huilliche have called this territory between Bueno River and Reloncaví Sound Futahuillimapu, meaning "great land of the south". The region hosts Monte Verde, one of the oldest archaeological sites of the Americas. The largest indigenous group of the region are the Huilliche who lived in the area before the arrival of the Spanish. The Spanish crown settled Chiloé Archipelago in 1567 while the rest of the region begun to be slowly colonized by non-indigenous people only in the late 18th century. In the 1850s, Germans arrived to colonize the shores of Llanquihue Lake under a Chilean state-sponsored program.

↑ Return to Menu

Chiloé Island in the context of Estero de Castro

Estero de Castro is a 20 km long inlet of the Sea of Chiloé into Chiloé Island. Castro, the capital of Chiloé Province is located on its western shores.

↑ Return to Menu

Chiloé Island in the context of Cucao and Huillinco

Cucao and Huillinco are two lakes in central Chiloé Island, Chile, linked by a strait forming one hydrologic lake. The two lakes are oriented in west-east fashion cutting off the Chilean Coast Range in Chiloé Island into two ranges; Piuchén to north and Pirulil to the south. The outlet of the lakes, Desaguadero or Cucao River lies at the western end of Cucao Lake, and flows into the Pacific. To the west Cucao is separated from the open ocean by an ancient dune field and pastures which are crossed by Desaguadero River. The bottom of both lakes is saline.

↑ Return to Menu

Chiloé Island in the context of Desertores Islands

Desertores Islands are a group of islands in the Sea of Chiloé, between Chiloé Island and the mainland of Chile. They are the easternmost islands of the Chiloé Archipelago, and are administered as part of the Chaitén commune, in the Palena Province, unlike the rest of the Archipelago, which forms Chiloé Province. The six main islands are Auten, Chuit, Chulin, Imerquiña, Nayahue and Talcan, with Talcan, the biggest and easternmost of the Desertores Islands, close to the mainland. There are several smaller islands in the archipelago. The islands are home to small, isolated communities that rely primarily on fishing and subsistence agriculture.

↑ Return to Menu