Chile: Maule Region

The epicenter of the Chile earthquake 2010 which hit Chile on 27-2-2010 is at offshore from the Maule Region, approximately 8 km (5.0 miles) west of Curanipe and 115 km north-northeast of Chile's second largest city, Concepción.

Map of Maule Region

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The VII Maule Region (Spanish: VII Región del Maule) is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. Its capital is Talca. The region takes its name from the Maule River, which running westward from the Andes, bisects the region and spans a basin of about 20,600 km². The Maule river is of considerable historic interest because, among other reasons, it marked the southern limits of the Inca Empire.

According to the 2002 Census the population of the region was 908,097. With one third of its population living in rural areas, Maule has a greater proportion of rural inhabitants than any other region of Chile.

The four provinces of the Region are:
1. Curicó
2, Talca
3. Linares
4. Cauquenes

The region can boast many small towns and villages with well-preserved colonial rural architecture both in the religious as well as the civil fields. The Talca and Linares dioceses (the two Roman Catholic dioceses in the Maule region) have several parish churches of particular beauty and architectural and historic value.

马乌莱大区是智利十五个大区之一，位于智利中部，下辖库里科省、塔尔卡省、利纳雷斯省、考克内斯省等省，面积30,296平方公里，人口908,097。首府塔尔卡，人口201,797，同时也是塔尔卡省省会。2010年2月27日马乌莱大区附近海域发生里氏8.8级强烈地震，并引发海啸，

Map of Talca(塔尔卡), the capital of Maule Region


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Talca (2002 Census pop. 193,755) is a city and commune in Chile, and is the capital of both Talca Province and Maule Region (7th Region of Chile).A city of central Chile between Santiago and Concepción. Talca is located 250 km south of Santiago, south of the confluence of the rivers Lircay and Claro, in the Central Valley. The city is bisected by the Pan-American Highway. Most travelers from Santiago to the South pass right through and have no experience of Talca, a busy medium sized city with cars, taxis, buses bicycles and horse drawn carts in the streets.

History
The city was founded as San Agustín de Talca in 1742 by José Antonio Manso de Velasco. It was partially destroyed by earthquakes in 1742 and 1928, being rebuilt both times. It sits near the epicenter of the 2010, magnitude 8.8 earthquake and suffered severe shaking causing the collapse of much of the historic town centre. The city played a role in Chile's independence; it was the home of Mgr. José Ignacio Cienfuegos, and was the site Bernardo O'Higgins' proclamation of Chilean independence in 1818.



The city is an important economic center, with agricultural (wheat) and manufacturing activities, as well as wine production(Note: The red wine may be from this region).It is also the location of the Universidad de Talca and the Catholic University of Maule, among others. The Catholic Church of Talca has held a prominent role in the history of Chile.

The inhabitants of Talca have a saying, Talca, Paris & London, born from a hat shop which had placed a ribbon stating that it had branches in Paris and London. The shop was owned by a French immigrant named Jean-Pierre Lagarde



Talco and effect of earthquake