Araucanía

Chile: Lake Villarrica

Araucanía, región, southern Chile. It lies between the Biobío and Toltén rivers and is bordered by Argentina on the east and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It is divided into the provinces of Malleco and Cautín. The region embraces the coastal mountain range, the fertile Central Valley, and the Andean cordillera.

It is the home of many Araucanian, or Mapuche, Indians, who maintained their independence under Spanish and Chilean authority until the late 19th century despite periodic campaigns to subdue them. The settlement of the conquered area by Chileans and Europeans, beginning with German colonists in the 1850s, has been encouraged by the national government.

Two partially navigable rivers, the Imperial and the Toltén, traverse the southern Araucanía region from east to west. The cordilleran ridges and volcanoes at Tolguaca, Lonquimay, and Llaima and the forests, lakes, and hot springs at Tolguaca, Río Blanco, and Manzanares are prime scenic attractions. Tourism, however, ranks below farming (especially in wheat), cattle raising, and lumbering in economic importance. The region is heavily forested. The Pan-American Highway and the main north-south railway pass through Temuco, the regional capital. Area 12,294 square miles (31,842 square km). Pop. (2007 prelim.) 945,500; (2017) 957,224.