{{Infobox settlement | name= La Higuera | native_name = | native_name_lang = es | settlement_type = [[List of towns in Chile|City]] and [[Communes of Chile|Commune]] | image_skyline = | image_alt = | image_caption = | image_flag = | flag_alt = Flag | image_shield = Escudo de La Higuera.svg | shield_alt = Coat of arms | image_map = Comuna de La Higuera.svg | map_alt = Map of La Higuera commune in Coquimbo Region | map_caption = | pushpin_map = Chile | pushpin_map_narrow = yes | pushpin_label_position = bottom | pushpin_map_alt = Location in Chile | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Chile | coordinates = {{coord|29|30|S|71|16|W|region:CL-CO|display=inline,title}} | coor_pinpoint = | coordinates_footnotes = | subdivision_type=Country | subdivision_name = {{flag|Chile}} | subdivision_type1 = [[Regions of Chile|Region]] | subdivision_name1 = {{flag|Coquimbo}} | subdivision_type2 = [[Provinces of Chile|Province]] | subdivision_name2=[[Elqui Province|Elqui]] | established_title = | established_date = | founder = | named_for = | seat_type = [[Capital (political)|Capital]] | seat = La Higuera | government_footnotes = <ref name="Official">{{Cite web |url=http://www.munilahiguera.cl/ |title=Municipality of La Higuera |accessdate=4 November 2010|language=es}}</ref> | government_type = [[Municipality]] | leader_party = | leader_title = [[Alcalde]] | leader_name = Sylvia Clavería Mondaca | unit_pref = Metric | area_footnotes = <ref name="INE">{{Cite web |url= http://www.ine.cl/canales/chile_estadistico/censos_poblacion_vivienda/censo_pobl_vivi.php |title= National Statistics Institute |accessdate=4 November 2010|language=es}}</ref> | area_total_km2 = 4158.2 | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = 594 | population_footnotes = <ref name="INE"/> | population_total = 4285 | population_as_of = 2012 Census | population_density_km2 = auto | population_demonym = | population_blank1_title = [[Urban area|Urban]] | population_blank1 = 1080 | population_blank2_title = [[Rural area|Rural]] | population_blank2 = 2641 | demographics_type1 = Sex | demographics1_footnotes = <ref name="INE"/> | demographics1_title1 = Men | demographics1_info1 = 2,084 | demographics1_title2 = Women | demographics1_info2 = 1,637 | timezone = [[Time in Chile|CLT]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.world-time-zones.org/zones/chile-time.htm |accessdate=26 September 2010 |title=Chile Time |publisher=WorldTimeZones.org |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070911130719/http://www.world-time-zones.org/zones/chile-time.htm |archivedate=11 September 2007 }}</ref> | utc_offset = -4 | timezone_DST = [[Time in Chile|CLST]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.world-time-zones.org/zones/chile-summer-time.htm |accessdate=26 September 2010 |title=Chile Summer Time |publisher=WorldTimeZones.org |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070911130451/http://www.world-time-zones.org/zones/chile-summer-time.htm |archivedate=11 September 2007 }}</ref> | utc_offset_DST = -3 | postal_code_type = | postal_code = | area_code_type = | area_code = 56 + 51 | website= [http://www.munilahiguera.cl/ Municipality of La Higuera] }} '''La Higuera''' is a [[List of towns in Chile|town]] and [[Communes of Chile|commune]] in [[Elqui Province]], [[Coquimbo Region]], [[Chile]]. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the east by the [[Atacama Region]], and the south by the communes of [[Vicuña, Chile|Vicuña]] and [[La Serena, Chile|La Serena]].
Punta de Choros is famous for its beaches and a colony of [[bottlenose dolphin]]s, the southernmost colony of that species. Of the total commune population, 1,080 live in urban zones and 2,641 live in rural zones.
The islands of Choros and Damas are also part of the commune, which form the National Reserve of the [[Humboldt Penguin]], administered by the [[Corporación Nacional Forestal]]. On the island of Damas, the beach La Tijera is found at the extreme south.
[[Las Campanas Observatory]] and [[La Silla Observatory]] are also found in the territory of the commune.
== History == {{See also|El Tofo}} The territory of La Higuera was well known historically for its mineral resources, and was greatly developed between 1855 and 1880. This encouraged immigration to the area, though when it got exhausted, many of them left. Today the slag piles visible in the northern part of the town of La Higuera are a reminder of this bygone era.
There exist projects to install in the commune territory a modern [[thermal power station]], with the idea of providing energy to the power grid that may be more reliable than [[hydroelectric power]] in times of drought. Despite the economic stimulus this would provide the commune, there are sectors of the population that oppose such an initiative due to the eventual environmental damage that it would cause.
Another problem that has affected the commune is the scarcity of [[potable water]], due to various factors, which has led to public complaints to the municipal as well as regional government. A [[fog collection]] project installed on El Tofo mountain in the 1990s to supply the village of Chugungo had fallen into disrepair as of 2002, and water was delivered to the village by truck, despite requests for construction of a water pipeline.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.idrc.ca/EN/Resources/Publications/Pages/ArticleDetails.aspx?PublicationID=698 | title=Collecting fog on El Tofo | publisher=IRDC | accessdate=August 26, 2011 | author=Stephen Dale | archive-date=March 3, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303220924/http://www.idrc.ca/EN/Resources/Publications/Pages/ArticleDetails.aspx?PublicationID=698 | url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Demographics== According to the 2002 [[census]] of the [[National Statistics Institute (Chile)|National Statistics Institute]], La Higuera had 3,721 inhabitants (2,084 men and 1,637 women). Of these, 1,080 (29%) lived in [[urban area]]s and 2,641 (71%) in [[rural area]]s. The population grew by 6.4% (223 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.<ref name= "INE"/>
The population of the commune is dispersed between a number of villages located throughout the commune. The predominant ones are [[Caleta Los Hornos]], Chungungo, La Higuera (communal capital), El Trapiche, Punta Colorada, Los Choros and Punta de Choros. [[File:2019 Total Solar Eclipse from La Higuera Chile.jpg|alt=total solar eclipse of 2019|thumb|Town from hills above.]] On July 2, 2019, the town was in the path of the 2019 Total Solar Eclipse,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEgoogle/SEgoogle2001/SE2019Jul02Tgoogle.html|title=NASA - Total Solar Eclipse of 2019 Jul 02|website=eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov|access-date=2019-07-11}}</ref> see photo.<ref>{{Citation|title=File:2019 Total Solar Eclipse from La Higuera Chile.jpg|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2019_Total_Solar_Eclipse_from_La_Higuera_Chile.jpg|work=Wikipedia|language=en|access-date=2019-07-11}}</ref>
==Administration== As a commune, La Higuera 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 Sylvia Clavería Mondaca.<ref name="Official"/>
Within the [[electoral divisions of Chile]], La Higuera is represented in the [[Chamber of Deputies of Chile|Chamber of Deputies]] by Mr. Mario Bertolino ([[National Renewal (Chile)|RN]]) and Marcelo Díaz ([[Socialist Party of Chile|PS]]) as part of the 7th electoral district, (together with [[La Serena, Chile|La Serena]] [[Vicuña, Chile|Vicuña]], [[Paiguano]] and [[Andacollo]]).
==References== {{Reflist}}
== External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090906095822/http://sinopsis.hollosite.com/north.html Panoramas of the islands of Choros, Damas, and Coquimbo (requires QuickTimePlayer)]
{{Communes in Coquimbo Region}} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:Communes of Chile]] [[Category:Populated places in Elqui Province]] [[Category:1855 establishments in Chile]] [[Category:Mining communities in Chile]]