Río Negro (Chile) 5.6

Río Negro is a Chilean city and commune in Osorno Province, Los Lagos Region. The city is located 38 km south of Osorno and 6 km west of Route 5. It has an area of 1,266 km² and a population of 14,732 inhabitants (7,204 women and 7,528 men according to census 2002).The commune is bordered on the north by Osorno and San Juan de la Costa, on the east by Puerto Octay, on the west by the Pacific Ocean, and on the south by Purranque.HistoryIn the 19th century, the commune was a property located between Chahuilco and Purranque called Curileufu by the natives. It was founded on lands donated by Jose Miguel Alderete in the year 1896. The first inhabitants were indigenous to the area.The first alcalde (mayor) was Pedro González.DemographicsAccording to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Río Negro spans an area of 1265.7sqkm and has 14,732 inhabitants (7,528 men and 7,204 women). Of these, 6,583 (44.7%) lived in urban areas and 8,149 (55.3%) in rural areas. The population fell by 8.1% (1294 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.