Concepción

Concepción, in full Concepción de la Madre Santísima de la Luz, city, south-central Chile. Concepción lies near the mouth of the Biobío River.

One of Chile’s largest cities, it was founded in 1550 by Pedro de Valdivia on the site of what is now Penco and was shortly afterward burned twice by Araucanian Indians. It was struck by numerous earthquakes, two of them followed by tidal waves (1730, 1751), and in 1754 it was moved inland to its present site, 6 miles (10 km) from the river’s mouth and 43 feet (13 metres) above sea level. In its second location, Concepción continued to be damaged by earthquakes, notably in 1835, 1960, and 2010.

earthquake aftermath, Concepción, Chile

Concepción has become a major commercial and industrial centre owing to particular site advantages. Concepción Bay, to the north, is large and protected; and the Biobío River provides a corridor through the coastal mountains to the Central Valley region, where agricultural and forest industries are well developed. The river’s volume and hydroelectric potential are ample for the region’s foreseeable requirements.

Most of Chile’s coal is mined south of the city in Arauco Bay. The railway serving the major mines ends in Concepción, as do the railways that follow the Biobío and Itata rivers into the interior. The Itata railway links the industrial and resort towns on the eastern shore of Concepción Bay, while a local railway serving the southwestern side of the bay joins the outport of Talcahuano, Huachipato, and San Vicente with Concepción. San Vicente is both a resort and a source of fresh and preserved seafood for Santiago, the nation’s capital, 260 miles (420 km) northeast. The Huachipato steel mill (operational since 1950), a petroleum refinery (1966), and the San Vicente chemical complex (established in the early 1970s) were major additions to Concepción’s industries, which include textiles, food processing, woodworking, glassmaking, and brewing. A paper factory and a cotton mill lie on the river shore.

Concepción is an episcopal see and the seat of an appellate court and has a university founded in 1919. Pop. (2002) city, 212,003; (2017) municipality, 223,574.