{{more citations needed|date=October 2020}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}} {{Other|Ovalle (surname)}} {{Infobox settlement | official_name = Ovalle | native_name = | settlement_type = [[List of cities in Chile|City]] and [[Communes of Chile|Commune]] | image_skyline = Ovalle2.jpg | image_caption = | image_flag = Flag of Ovalle, Chile.svg | flag_alt = Flag | image_seal = | image_shield = Escudo de Ovalle.svg | shield_alt = Coat of arms | image_map = Comuna de Ovalle.svg | 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_footnotes = | coor_pinpoint = | coordinates = {{coord|30|36|S|71|12|W|region:CL-CO|display=inline,title}} | 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 = [[Limarí Province|Limarí]] | government_footnotes = <ref name="Official">{{Cite web|url=http://www.municipalidaddeovalle.cl/|title=Municipality of Ovalle|access-date=28 July 2010|language=es|archive-date=26 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526230859/http://www.municipalidaddeovalle.cl/|url-status=dead}}</ref> | government_type = [[Municipality]] | leader_title = [[Alcalde]] | leader_name = Hector Vega Campusano | leader_party = | established_title = Founded | established_date = 1831 | 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 |access-date=4 November 2010|language=es}}</ref> | area_total_km2 = 3834.5 | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = 215 | population_footnotes = <ref name="INE"/> | population_total = 103734 | population_as_of = 2012 Census | population_density_km2 = auto | population_blank1_title = [[Urban area|Urban]] | population_blank1 = 73790 | population_blank2_title = [[Rural area|Rural]] | population_blank2 = 24299 | demographics_type1 = Sex | demographics1_footnotes = <ref name="INE"/> | demographics1_title1 = Men | demographics1_info1 = 47,805 | demographics1_title2 = Women | demographics1_info2 = 50,284 | timezone = [[Time in Chile|CLT]] | utc_offset = −4 | timezone_DST = [[Time in Chile|CLST]] | utc_offset_DST = −3 | postal_code_type = Postal code | postal_code = 1840000 | area_code = 56 + 53 | blank_name = [[Köppen climate classification|Climate]] | blank_info = [[Semi-arid climate#Hot semi-arid climates|BSh]] | website = [http://www.municipalidaddeovalle.cl/ Official website] {{in lang|es}} | footnotes = | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 8 | mapframe-wikidata = yes | mapframe-marker = city }}
'''Ovalle''' is a [[List of cities in Chile|city]] in the [[Coquimbo Region]] of Chile,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.welcomechile.com/ovalle/index_i.html |title = Tourism in Ovalle 2021: Summer in Ovalle}}</ref> founded in 1831 as a settlement. It has a population of more than 113,000 people. The name Ovalle was chosen in honor of [[José Tomás Ovalle]], former Chilean vice president and two-time acting president. Ovalle is the capital of the [[Limarí Province]].
The city's setting is often likened to an oasis, being lush and green although surrounded by barren hills.{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}} The city lies amidst a mining district with the copper mine of [[Panulcillo]] and the iron mine of [[El Dorado mine|El Dorado]] lying in its immediate vicinities.<ref name=mchi>{{Cite news |title=Planean reactivar producción de hierro en mina El Dorado, en zona de Ovalle |date=2009-09-04 |url=https://www.mch.cl/negocios-industria/planean-reactivar-produccion-de-hierro-en-mina-el-dorado-en-zona-de-ovalle/ |access-date=2025-07-22 |work=Minería Chilena |language=es}}</ref><ref name=lsonl>{{Cite news |title=ENAMI potencia planta DELTA en Ovalle |date=2024-03-17 |url=https://laserenaonline.cl/2024/03/17/enami-potencia-planta-delta-en-ovalle/ |access-date=2025-07-27 |work=La Serena Online |language=es}}</ref> Next ot Panulcillo state-owned company [[ENAMI (Chile)|ENAMI]] operates [[Planta Delta]] which purchases and processes ore from local small-scale miners.<ref name=lsonl/>
There is a trail leading from the city that lasts roughly 50 minutes, and features relatively safe bathing and an area where dinosaur fossils can be found. On the trail is a life-sized model of a [[brachiosaurus]].
The town's football club is [[Deportes Ovalle]]. Famous players have played for the club, including [[1982 FIFA World Cup]] player [[Rodolfo Dubó]].
==Demographics== According to the 2002 [[census]] of the [[National Statistics Institute (Chile)|National Statistics Institute]], Ovalle spans an area of {{convert|3834.5|sqkm|0|abbr=on}} and has 98,089 inhabitants (47,805 men and 50,284 women). Of these, 73,790 (75.2%) lived in [[urban area]]s and 24,299 (24.8%) in [[rural area]]s. The population grew by 15.4% (13,107 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.<ref name= "INE"/>
== Climate == The climate is semi-desertic. Ovalle has hot and dry summers, with temperatures in the range 22–33 °C. Winters are humid and fresh, and is when rains occur. The temperatures in winter are generally lower than nearby cities like La Serena or Punitaqui, due to cold winds that come from the Andes through the Ovalle valley. Temperatures rarely fall below -5 °C.
{{Weather box|width=auto |metric first=y |single line=y |collapsed = Y |location = Ovalle |Jan high C = 28.4 |Feb high C = 28.3 |Mar high C = 26.8 |Apr high C = 23.9 |May high C = 21.0 |Jun high C = 18.4 |Jul high C = 18.1 |Aug high C = 19.6 |Sep high C = 21.7 |Oct high C = 23.8 |Nov high C = 25.8 |Dec high C = 27.4 | year high C = |Jan mean C = 19.8 |Feb mean C = 19.8 |Mar mean C = 17.6 |Apr mean C = 15.2 |May mean C = 13.2 |Jun mean C = 11.4 |Jul mean C = 10.9 |Aug mean C = 11.7 |Sep mean C = 13.4 |Oct mean C = 14.8 |Nov mean C = 16.9 |Dec mean C = 18.6 | year mean C = |Jan low C = 13.0 |Feb low C = 12.4 |Mar low C = 11.0 |Apr low C = 9.2 |May low C = 7.7 |Jun low C = 6.5 |Jul low C = 6.1 |Aug low C = 6.5 |Sep low C = 7.7 |Oct low C = 8.6 |Nov low C = 9.9 |Dec low C = 11.5 | year low C = |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm = 0.0 |Feb precipitation mm = 1.1 |Mar precipitation mm = 0.7 |Apr precipitation mm = 2.1 |May precipitation mm = 29.5 |Jun precipitation mm = 42.1 |Jul precipitation mm = 26.9 |Aug precipitation mm = 21.2 |Sep precipitation mm = 5.7 |Oct precipitation mm = 2.7 |Nov precipitation mm = 0.9 |Dec precipitation mm = 1.1 |year precipitation mm = | Jan humidity = 74 | Feb humidity = 65 | Mar humidity = 69 | Apr humidity = 73 | May humidity = 76 | Jun humidity = 78 | Jul humidity = 78 | Aug humidity = 76 | Sep humidity = 73 | Oct humidity = 69 | Nov humidity = 66 | Dec humidity = 64 | year humidity = |source 1 = Bioclimatografia de Chile<ref>{{cite web | first1 = Ernst | last1 = Hajek | first2 = Francesco | url = http://www.ecolyma.cl/documentos/bioclimatografia_de_chile.pdf | title = Bioclimatografia de Chile | access-date = 27 May 2024 | last2 = Castri |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091122225453/http://www.ecolyma.cl/documentos/bioclimatografia_de_chile.pdf |archive-date = 22 November 2009 | language = es | year = 1975}}</ref> }}
==Administration== As a commune, Ovalle 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 2012-2016 alcalde is Claudio Rentería Larrondo.
Within the [[electoral divisions of Chile]], Ovalle is represented in the [[Chamber of Deputies of Chile|Chamber of Deputies]] by Pedro Velásquez ([[Independent (politician)|Ind.]]) and Matías Walker ([[Christian Democratic Party|PDC]]) as part of the 8th electoral district, (together with [[Coquimbo]] and [[Río Hurtado]]). The commune is represented in the [[Senate of Chile|Senate]] by Gonzalo Uriarte ([[Independent Democratic Union|UDI]]) and Jorge Pizarro Soto ([[Christian Democratic Party|PDC]]) as part of the 4th senatorial constituency (Coquimbo Region).
== Notable people == {{See also|Category:People from Ovalle}} The pediatrician and biochemist [[Hermann Niemeyer]], one of the central figures in the development of [[biochemistry]] in Chile, was born in Ovalle in 1918.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hermann Niemeyer Fernández, Premio Nacional de Ciencias 1983 |url=https://www.uchile.cl/portal/presentacion/historia/grandes-figuras/premios-nacionales/ciencias-/6644/hermann-niemeyer-fernandez |access-date=25 June 2021}}</ref> [[Elisa Berroeta]] was born in Ovalle and was a wood engraver and illustrator, active in Santiago and Paris.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cortés Aliaga |first=Gloria |title=Modernas: Historias de Mujeres en el Arte Chileno 1900–1950 |publisher=Origo |year=2018 |isbn=9789563161465 |location=Santiago, Chile |trans-title=Modern Women: stories of Women in Chilean Art 1900–1950}}</ref>
==Gallery== {| |- | [[File:Kiosco plaza ovalle.jpg|thumb|left|220px|''Public Square Kiosk'']] | [[File:Ovalle2.jpg|thumb|left|220px|''Vista de Ovalle'']] | [[File:Fundina, Ovalle, Chile.jpg|thumb|left|220px|''The Andean Mountains as seen from Fundina, Ovalle, Chile.'']] |}
==See also== *[[Bosque de Fray Jorge National Park]] *[[Embalse La Paloma]] *[[Embalse Recoleta]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Ovalle}} * {{in lang|es}} [http://www.municipalidaddeovalle.cl/ Municipality of Ovalle] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526230859/http://www.municipalidaddeovalle.cl/ |date=26 May 2015 }} * {{in lang|es}} [http://www.ovallito.cl/ovalle Ovallito.cl]
{{Communes in Coquimbo Region}} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:Populated places established in 1831]] [[Category:Communes of Chile]] [[Category:Populated places in Limarí Province]] [[Category:Capitals of Chilean provinces]] [[Category:1831 establishments in Chile]]