Linares (Chile)

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Linares is a Chilean city and episcopal see located in the Maule Region and lies in the geographical center of the country, on the fertile central plain, 303 km south of Santiago and 50 km south of Talca, the regional capital. Linares is the capital city of the province of Linares.

Demography
The comuna of Linares has a population of 83,249 (2002 census), of which 15,025 (18%) live in rural areas while the urban population has reached 68,224 (82%), (as compared with 59,658 in the 1992 census). Women (35,669) make up 52.3% of Linares urban population while men (32,555) represent 47,7%. In contrast, and mirroring the results typically found in rural areas in Chile, there were 7,963 men (53.0%) vs 7,062 women (47.0%) living in the rural areas of the comuna.


Geography
The municipality covers an area of 1.466 km² and the city proper, 16 km². The rivers Ancoa, Putagán and Achibueno are the main rivers that pass through the municipality or form its natural borders.

Most of the territory of the municipality is located within the central plain or "depresión intermedia", (Valle Central de Chile). Some low altitude hills are located in the westernmost part of the municipality, while its easternmost part is marked by the presence of the foothills of the Andes mountains. The municipality of Linares is bordered on the west by San Javier; on the north by Villa Alegre, Yerbas Buenas and Colbún; on the east, by Colbún, and on the south, by Longaví. The municipality of Colbún occupies the easternmost strip of the province, where some of the highest provincial peaks are located as are the sources of several of the main rivers.


Climate
Linares has a mild Mediterranean climate. The summers are hot and mainly dry (November to March) with temperatures reaching up to 32 -33 degrees Celsius on the hottest days. The winters (late May to mid September) tend to be rather humid and rainy, with typical maximum daily temperatures of 14-15 degrees Celsius, and minimum just above freezing.