Province of El Loa Provincia de El Loa | |
|---|---|
 Seal  El Loa province, in red, in the Antofagasta Region   Province of El Loa Location in Chile | |
| Coordinates: 22°50′S 68°07′W / 22.833°S 68.117°W / -22.833; -68.117 | |
| Country |  Chile |
| Region | Antofagasta |
| Capital | Calama |
| Comunas | Calama, Ollagüe, San Pedro de Atacama |
| Government | |
| • Type | Provincial |
| • Governor | Claudio Andrés Lagos Gutiérrez |
| Area | |
| • Total | 41,999.6 km2 (16,216.1 sq mi) |
| Population (2002 Census)[2] | |
| • Total | 143,689 |
| • Density | 3.4/km2 (8.9/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC-4 (CLT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-3 (CLST) |
| Area code | 56 + 55 |
| Website | Official website |
The Province of El Loa (Spanish: Provincia de El Loa) is one of three provinces of the northern Chilean region of Antofagasta (II). It is named after the longest river of Chile, the Loa. The provincial capital is Calama.
The El Loa province has an area of 41,999.6 km2 (16,216.1 sq mi).[2]
The province is bordered on the north by the Tarapacá region, on the east by Bolivia, on the south by Argentina and on the west by the Antofagasta and the Tocopilla provinces.
Places next to El Loa | |
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As of 2002[update] (last national census), there were 143,689 people living in the province, giving it a population density of 3.4 inhabitants/km².[2]
The largest city of the province is Calama, its capital, with a population, in 2002, of 126,135 inhabitants.
As a province, the El Loa province is a second-level administrative division, consisting of three communes (comunas). The city of Calama serves as the provincial capital. The province is administered by a governor.
| Code | Comuna | Capital | Area[2] (km²) | Population[2] (2002) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 02201 | 5 Calama | Calama | 15,596.9 | 138,402 |
| 02202 | 6 Ollagüe | Ollagüe | 2,963.9 | 318 |
| 02203 | 7 San Pedro de Atacama | San Pedro de Atacama | 23,438.8 | 4,969 |
| Total of the El Loa province | 41,999.6 | 143,689 | ||
