Puerto Montt
Puerto Montt
Meli Pulli | |
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1st row: Pelluco, spa and tourist town in the commune of Puerto Montt. 2nd row: Night panoramic view of downtown Puerto Montt. 3rd row: Monument to Vicente Pérez Rosales, and eruption of the Calbuco volcano from the city. 4th row: On the left, Bell Tower of the Society of Jesus; on the right-top, Church of the Jesuit Fathers; to the right-below, Chinquihue stadium. | |
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| Coordinates (city): 41°28′S 72°56′W / 41.467°S 72.933°W | |
| Country | Chile |
| Region | Los Lagos |
| Province | Llanquihue |
| Founded as | Melipulli |
| Founded | 12 February 1853 |
| Named after | Manuel Montt |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipality |
| • Alcalde | Rodrigo Wainraihgt (RN) |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,673.0 km2 (645.9 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 14 m (46 ft) |
| Population (2017 Census) | |
• Total | 245,902 |
| • Density | 150/km2 (380/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 220,143 |
| • Rural | 25,759 |
| Demonym(s) | Puertomontino -a or Melipullian |
| Sex | |
| • Men | 121,019 |
| • Women | 124,883 |
| Time zone | UTC−4 (CLT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−3 (CLST) |
| Postal code | 5480000 |
| Area code | 56 + 65 |
| Climate | Cfb |
| Website | Official website (in Spanish) |
Puerto Montt (Mapuche: Meli Pulli) is a port city and commune in southern Chile, located at the northern end of the Reloncaví Sound in the Llanquihue Province, Los Lagos Region, 1,055 km to the south of the capital, Santiago. The commune spans an area of 1,673 km2 (646 sq mi) and has a population of 245,902 in 2017. It is bounded by the communes of Puerto Varas to the north, Cochamó to the east and southeast, Calbuco to the southwest and Maullín and Los Muermos to the west.
Founded as late as 1853 during the German colonization of southern Chile, Puerto Montt soon outgrew older neighboring cities through its strategic position at the southern end of the Chilean Central Valley being a gateway city into the Chiloé Archipelago, the Llanquihue and Nahuel Huapi lakes and Western Patagonia.
Puerto Montt has gained renown and grown significantly through the rise of Chile to become the second largest salmon producer of the world during the 1990s and 2000s. However, the Chilean salmon aquaculture crisis of the late 2000s resulted in severe unemployment and exposed weaknesses in the local economy. The city's cultural endowment mixes elements of Chilean-Spanish culture with a German heritage. The city has attracted a significant number of newcomers from all over Chile in the last 30 years in search of employment opportunities.