CHILO ISLAND

Spanish Isla Grande De Chilo, largest island of Chilo provincia in Los Lagos regin, southern Chile. It has an area of 3,241 square miles (8,394 square km). The island is a sunken extension of Chile's coastal mountain range, from which it is separated by the Chacao Straits. The nearest of the myriad islands and archipelagoes to its south are the Guaitecas Islands, which lie across the Guafo Gulf. To the east, 30 miles (48 km) across the Corcovado Gulf, is mainland Palena province; to the west is the Pacific Ocean. Situated in an area of heavy rainfall and heavily forested inland with evergreens, the island is little developed. Spaniards captured it from Indians in 1567 and controlled it until 1826, making it the last foothold in Chile of royalist forces during the wars for independence. Most of the province's inhabitants live on the island, especially in Ancud and in the oldest city and provincial capital, Castro (founded 1567). They are engaged in agriculture (potatoes, grains), livestock raising (sheep, cattle), fishing, and lumbering. Roads connect Ancud and Castro, both of which are ports. Pop. (1982 prelim.) 67,821.