Top: Volcán Osorno, Middle left: Plaza de Armas, Middle right: Negro River seen from Chapaco Bridge, Bottom left: Locality of La Toma Bottom right: Remains of the Río Negro-Osorno railroad
Río Negro (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈri.oˈneɣɾo], English: Black River) is a Chileancity and commune in Osorno Province, Los Lagos Region. The city is located 38 km south of Osorno and 6 km west of Route 5. It has an area of 1,266 km² and a population of 14,732 inhabitants (7,204 women and 7,528 men according to census 2002).
In the 19th century, the commune was a property located between Chahuilco and Purranque called Curileufu by the Huilliche. The town was founded on lands donated by Jose Miguel Alderete in the year 1896. The first alcalde (mayor) was Pedro González.
Demographics
According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Río Negro spans an area of 1,265.7 km2 (489 sq mi) and has 14,732 inhabitants (7,528 men and 7,204 women). Of these, 6,583 (44.7%) lived in urban areas and 8,149 (55.3%) in rural areas. The population fell by 8.1% (1294 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.[2]