Melinka
Place in Aisén, Aisén
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Melinka is a Chilean town in Aysén Province, Aysén Region. It is located on Ascención Island and is the administrative center of the commune of Guaitecas since 1979.
Melinka
Isla Melinca | |
|---|---|
Aerial view of Melinka | |
|
   Melinka Location in Chile | |
| Coordinates: 43°53′52″S 73°44′38″W | |
| Region | Aisén |
| Province | Aisén |
| Commune | Guaitecas |
| Government | |
| • Alcalde | Luis Antonio Miranda Chiguay |
| Population (2017[1]) | |
• Total | 1,329 |
| Sex | |
| • Men | 717 |
| • Women | 612 |
| Time zone | UTC−04:00 (Chilean Standard) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−03:00 (Chilean Daylight) |
| Climate | Cfb |
The town is on a small peninsula off the main island, and shelters a small harbor. The island is in the Guaitecas Archipelago, at the southern end of the Gulf of Corcovado.[2][3] Melinka is served by Melinka Airport and is connected by gravel road to the hamlets of Repollal.
Melinka is culturally similar to Chiloé Archipelago[4] but its inhabitants custom to bring dogs on board in their travels is likely rooted in native Chono traditions.[5][6]
In 2017 Melinka had a population of 1329 inhabitants down from 1411 in 2002.[1][7]
History
Prior to its founding in 1860 the location of Melinka was known as Puerto Arenas (literally "Port Sand") by whalers who visited the area regularly.[8] Melinka was founded in 1860 by the German immigrant, Felipe Arnold Westhoff.[9] Westhoff had been commissioned to supply railway sleepers to Ferrocarril Central Andino in Peru.[9] At the time the Guaitecas Archipelago was still part of Chiloé Province.[citation needed] In the first years of Melinka a series of indigenous tombs were discovered while building houses.[10] From Melinka Westhoff exported Pilgerodendron uviferum (Spanish: ciprés de las Guaitecas) that made excellent wood for sleepers.[9] In 1870 the port was charted by Enrique Simpson on board Chacabuco.[11]
The famous pirate Pedro Ñancúpel was captured in Melinka in 1886 and bought into justice in Ancud the same year.[12][13]
According to a local tradition the word melinka comes from Russian and means lovely. In fact, there is the Russian archaic colloquialism милёнка (transl. milyonka) which means "lovely."[14] Westhoff who came from Lithuania in the Russian Empire named Melinka after his sister.[13]
Climate
Melinka has a wet oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfb).
| Climate data for Melinka | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 17.4 (63.3) |
17.2 (63.0) |
15.9 (60.6) |
13.6 (56.5) |
11.3 (52.3) |
10.1 (50.2) |
10.0 (50.0) |
10.0 (50.0) |
10.9 (51.6) |
13.2 (55.8) |
13.8 (56.8) |
15.7 (60.3) |
13.3 (55.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 13.3 (55.9) |
13.2 (55.8) |
12.0 (53.6) |
10.4 (50.7) |
8.8 (47.8) |
7.7 (45.9) |
7.6 (45.7) |
7.3 (45.1) |
7.8 (46.0) |
9.5 (49.1) |
10.3 (50.5) |
12.0 (53.6) |
10.0 (50.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 9.6 (49.3) |
9.5 (49.1) |
8.7 (47.7) |
7.4 (45.3) |
6.0 (42.8) |
5.0 (41.0) |
5.0 (41.0) |
4.6 (40.3) |
4.8 (40.6) |
6.1 (43.0) |
7.0 (44.6) |
8.5 (47.3) |
6.9 (44.4) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 152.2 (5.99) |
168.2 (6.62) |
216.8 (8.54) |
270.1 (10.63) |
349.4 (13.76) |
367.8 (14.48) |
382.5 (15.06) |
325.2 (12.80) |
256.9 (10.11) |
191.6 (7.54) |
247.0 (9.72) |
246.0 (9.69) |
3,137.7 (123.53) |
| Source: Bioclimatografia de Chile[15] | |||||||||||||
