# Illapel

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City and Commune in Coquimbo, Chile

Illapel City and Commune Flag Coat of arms Location of Illapel commune in the Coquimbo Region Illapel Location in Chile Coordinates: 31°38′S 71°10′W / 31.633°S 71.167°W / -31.633; -71.167 Country Chile Region Coquimbo Province Choapa Founded 1752 Government [1] • Type Municipality • Alcalde Denis Cortés Vargas (IND/JPM) Area [2] • Total 2,629.1 km2 (1,015.1 sq mi) Elevation 388 m (1,273 ft) Population (2012 Census)[2] • Total 30,074 • Density 11.439/km2 (29.627/sq mi) • Urban 21,826 • Rural 8,529 Demonym Illapelino Sex [2] • Men 14,940 • Women 15,415 Time zone UTC−4 (CLT) • Summer (DST) UTC−3 (CLST) Area code 56 + 53 Climate BSk Website Official website (in Spanish)

**Illapel** (Spanish pronunciation: [\[i.ʝa.ˈpel\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Spanish)) is a [Chilean](/source/Chile) [city](/source/List_of_cities_in_Chile), which is the capital of the [Choapa Province](/source/Choapa_Province), [Coquimbo Region](/source/Coquimbo_Region). It lies along the [Illapel River](/source/Illapel_River) and marks the country's narrowest point along a [parallel](/source/Parallel_(latitude)) (94 km). It is located to the east of [Los Vilos](/source/Los_Vilos).

## Administration

As a commune, Illapel is a third-level [administrative division of Chile](/source/Administrative_division_of_Chile) administered by a [municipal council](/source/Municipal_council), headed by an [alcalde](/source/Alcalde) who is directly elected every four years. The 2008–2012 alcalde was Denis Cortés Vargas ([IND](/source/Independent_(politician))/[JPM](/source/Juntos_Podemos_M%C3%A1s)).[1]

Within the [electoral divisions of Chile](/source/Electoral_divisions_of_Chile), Illapel is represented in the [Chamber of Deputies](/source/Chamber_of_Deputies_of_Chile) by Adriana Muñoz ([PDC](/source/Christian_Democratic_Party)) and Luis Lemus ([Ind.](/source/Independent_(politician))) as part of the 9th electoral district, (together with [Combarbalá](/source/Combarbal%C3%A1), [Punitaqui](/source/Punitaqui), [Monte Patria](/source/Monte_Patria), [Salamanca](/source/Salamanca%2C_Chile), [Los Vilos](/source/Los_Vilos), [Canela](/source/Canela%2C_Chile)). The commune is represented in the [Senate](/source/Senate_of_Chile) by [Evelyn Matthei Fornet](/source/Evelyn_Matthei) ([UDI](/source/Independent_Democratic_Union)) and [Jorge Pizarro Soto](/source/Jorge_Pizarro) ([PDC](/source/Christian_Democratic_Party)) as part of the 4th senatorial constituency (Coquimbo Region).

## Demographics

According to the 2002 [census](/source/Census) of the [National Statistics Institute](/source/National_Statistics_Institute_(Chile)), Illapel spans an area of 2,629.1 km2 (1,015 sq mi) and has 30,355 inhabitants (14,940 men and 15,415 women). Of these, 21,826 (71.9%) lived in [urban areas](/source/Urban_area) and 8,529 (28.1%) in [rural areas](/source/Rural_area). The population grew by 4.6% (1,348 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.[2]

## Earthquake of September 16, 2015

Main article: [2015 Illapel earthquake](/source/2015_Illapel_earthquake)

On September 16, 2015, at 22:54:33 UTC (19:54:33 local time), a [great earthquake](/source/2015_Illapel_earthquake) of magnitude 8.3 hit the area, with an [epicenter](/source/Epicenter) 46 km (29 mi) west of Illapel.[3] The earthquake caused physical damage, the loss of human lives, forced the evacuation of one million people from the coast (some sources mistakenly claimed a million people evacuated from Santiago), and a [tsunami](/source/Tsunami) warning was issued for parts of South America, Hawaii, California and French Polynesia. Copper prices spiked in early trading, on fears of supply disruption.[4]

## See also

- [Las Chinchillas National Reserve](/source/Las_Chinchillas_National_Reserve)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Official_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Official_1-1) ["Municipality of Illapel"](http://www.municipalidadillapel.cl/) (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 July 2010.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-INE_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-INE_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-INE_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-INE_2-3) ["National Statistics Institute"](http://www.ine.cl/canales/chile_estadistico/censos_poblacion_vivienda/censo_pobl_vivi.php) (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 November 2010.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Global Earthquake Epicenters. ["Map of the earthquake M8.3 – 46km W of Illapel, Chile 2015-09-16 22:54:33 UTC"](http://www.geographic.org/earthquakes/real_time_details.php?id=nc72282711&lat=38.2153&lon=-122.3178). Geographic.org. Retrieved 2015-09-17.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Anthony Esposito (17 September 2015). ["Powerful quake hits off coast of Chile, some coastal flooding"](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-chile-quake-idUSKCN0RG33E20150917). *Reuters*. Retrieved 2015-09-17.

## External links

- (in Spanish) [Municipality of Illapel](http://www.municipalidadillapel.cl/)

- (in Spanish) [Comercioillapel.com Tu Brujula del Valle del Choapa](https://web.archive.org/web/20120626021309/http://www.comercioillapel.com/)

v t e < Communes and municipalities in Coquimbo Region > Elqui Andacollo Coquimbo La Higuera La Serena Paihuano Vicuña Limarí Combarbalá Monte Patria Punitaqui Río Hurtado Ovalle Choapa Canela Illapel Los Vilos Salamanca

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Illapel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illapel) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illapel?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.