Los Ángeles (Spanish pronunciation:[losˈaŋxeles]) is thecapital of theprovince of Bío Bío, in thecommune of the same name, inBío Bío, in the center-south ofChile. It is located between theLaja andBiobío rivers. The population is 219.441 inhabitants (census 2024).[4] The municipality ("comuna") of Los Ángeles has the highest absolute rural population of any Chilean municipality.
To the north of the city is Salto del Laja (Laja Falls), and roughly 100 kilometers to the east is the 2,979 meters (9,774 feet) highAntuco volcano, in theAndes mountain range. The city is a gateway for tourists visiting the nearbyLaguna del Laja National Park, the location of the volcano.
Founded as Nuestra Señora de Los Ángeles (Our Lady of the Angels) in 1739 byJosé Antonio Manso de Velasco, it was originally aSpanish fort as an outpost in theWar of Arauco. It received the title ofvilla in 1748. The city underwent numerous rebuildings, due to the Spanish military campaigns against the nativeMapuche in their efforts to colonize the area. Its geographic location, just to the north of the Biobío river (the border established by the Spaniards), made it a strategic location.
In 1858, during the process ofGerman immigration in Chile, Colonia Humán was founded, a town colonized by German settlers from Germany andAustro-Hungarian Empire and which was completely conurbated within the current urban limits of the city.[5]
According to the 2024census of theNational Statistics Institute, Los Ángeles spans an area of 1,748.2 km2 (675 sq mi) and has 219,441 inhabitants (105,436 men and 114,005 women), with an average age of 37,6 years.[4]
Within the communities of historical immigrants of the city of foreign origin, theSpanish,Arabs,Germans, andSwiss stand out, depending on their number and contributions, from the colonized localities by Europeans in the area, especially from Araucanía.
This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. According to theKöppen Climate Classification system, Los Ángeles has awarm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps. Most of the annual precipitation of 42 inches (1070 mm) falls during the autumn and winter months of April through September. May is the wettest month, with 10 inches (250 mm) of precipitation on average. Snow is uncommon, and when it falls melts quickly.[6]
^Hajek, Ernst; Castri, Francesco (1975)."Bioclimatografia de Chile"(PDF) (in Spanish). Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 22 November 2009. Retrieved27 May 2024.
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