Quellón


Quellón is a Chilean port city and commune in southern Chiloé Island, Los Lagos Region. It is considered the southern end-station of the Panamerican Highway and the Pacific Coastal Highway. The city is a hub for aquaculture and fisheries in southern Chiloé and the Guaitecas and Chonos archipelagoes to the south. Various ferry lanes connects Quellón with the Patagonian settlements such as Melinka, Puerto Cisnes and Puerto Chacabuco.
In Quellón the majority of men work on small boats called "lanchas" for days at a time fishing. Also many men and women work in local seafood processing plants.

Climate

Quellón has an oceanic climate with some drying trend in summer. Winters are cool and wet but mild with a July average of. During this time of the year, precipitation is very high, averaging around from June to August and humidity is high, averaging around 85–87%. Few days are dry in winter, since there are 22–24 days with measurable precipitation from June to August. Nonetheless, snowfall is rare and most years will record no snowfall. Summers are mild with a January average of and during this time, precipitation is lower, averaging in February, the driest month. Temperatures can occasionally exceed anytime from September to June. One characteristic of the climate is that Quellón, like the rest of the central and southern parts of Chiloé island is exposed to strong westerly winds throughout the year. The average annual precipitation is, with significant amounts in all months; the 4 months with the most precipitation make up 50% of the total annual precipitation. On average, there are 239 days with measureable precipitation.
The record high was in January 1978 and the record low was in June 1971 and August 1975.

Demographics

According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Quellón spans an area of and has 21,823 inhabitants. Of these, 13,656 lived in urban areas and 8,167 in rural areas. The population grew by 45% between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, Quellón is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Iván Haro Uribe.
Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Quellón is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Gabriel Ascencio and Alejandro Santana as part of the 58th electoral district,. The commune is represented in the Senate by Camilo Escalona Medina and Carlos Kuschel Silva as part of the 17th senatorial constituency.

Transport

A placard in Quellón marks a southern terminus of the Pan-American Highway, a network of roads spanning and 19 countries in the Americas. Its northern limit is in Anchorage, Alaska. Tierra del Fuego National Park in Argentina is also considered as an endpoint for the Panamerican Highway. The point also marks the southern endpoint of the Pacific Coastal Highway, which stretches from Lund, British Columbia. The southernmost reaches of continental Chile are not accessible by road except through neighboring Argentina due to the craggy Andes, fjords and the Southern Patagonian Ice Field.
Mocopulli Airport is in Chiloe Island; it offers flights to Santiago via LAN Express airlines.

Sights

There are two museums in Quellón: The museum Museo Inchin Cuivi Anti explains the culture and the history of the Huilliche, and the Municipal Museum refers sto the history of the town. The Cultural Center of Quellón was built with financial help of the salmon processing industry.
The market Feria Artesanal Llauquil and the marine drive Costanera P. Montt offering a scenic view of the beautiful surroundings are worth a visit as well.
Close to Quellón there are several interesting villages, e.g. Punta de Lapa with a beautiful 5 km long beach, or Compu with a wooden church which was built at the beginning of the 20th century. Quellón Viejo, a village with an interesting cemetery and a typical wooden church dating from the beginning of the 20th century is older than Quellón. Yaldad is a Huilliche village with about 500 inhabitants and a wooden church representing the typical style of Chiloé which was built at the beginning of the 20th century and renovated in 1990. Trincao has a sightworthy cemetery and an interesting church dating from 1920.