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Puerto Montt

Puerto Montt
Meli Pulli
City and Commune
Nocturnal view.
Nocturnal view.
Flag of Puerto Montt
Flag
Coat of arms of Puerto Montt
Coat of arms
Location of the Puerto Montt commune in Los Lagos Region
Location of the Puerto Montt commune in Los Lagos Region
Puerto Montt is located in Chile
Puerto Montt
Puerto Montt
Location in Chile
Coordinates (city): 41°28′S 72°56′W / 41.467°S 72.933°W / -41.467; -72.933Coordinates: 41°28′S 72°56′W / 41.467°S 72.933°W / -41.467; -72.933
Country Chile
Region Los Lagos
Province Llanquihue
Founded as Melipulli
Founded 12 February 1853
Government
 • Type Municipality
 • Alcalde Gervoy Paredes Rojas (PS)
Area
 • Total 1,673.0 km2 (645.9 sq mi)
Elevation 14 m (46 ft)
Population (2012 Census)
 • Total 218,858
 • Density 130/km2 (340/sq mi)
 • Urban 192,473
 • Rural 26,385
Demonym(s) Puertomontino -a or
Melipullian
Sex
 • Men 107,748
 • Women 111,110
Time zone CLT (UTC−4)
 • Summer (DST) CLST (UTC−3)
Postal code 5480000
Area code(s) 56 + 65
Climate Cfb
Website Official website (Spanish)

Puerto Montt 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 had a population of 175,938 in 2002. 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 due to its strategic position at the southern end of the Chilean Central Valley being a gateway city into Chiloé Archipelago, Llanquihue and Nahuel Huapi lakes and Western Patagonia.

Puerto Montt has gained renown and grown significantly due to the rise of Chile as the second largest salmon producer of the world during the 1990s and 2000s. However, the Chilean salmon aquaculture crisis of the late 2000s resulted at least temporarily in severe unemployment and exposed weaknesses in the local economy. The city's cultural heritage mixes elements of Chiloé culture with German heritage although the city has attracted a significant number of newcomers from all over Chile in the last 30 years due to employment opportunities.


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