Talcahuano

36°40S 73°10W, pop (2000e) 282 000. Port in Bío-Bío region, C Chile; on a peninsula, 12 km/7 mi from Concepción; best harbour in Chile, containing main naval base and dry docks; railway; steel, using iron ore from N Chile.

Talcahuano is a port city of Chile, lying near Concepción.

The official foundation date of Talcahuano is November 5, 1764 when Antonio Guill y Gonzaga declared it as an official port.

The city is named after an Araucanian chief, Talcahueñu, who inhabited the region at the arrival of the Spanish.

The port was well known to American whaleships of the early 19th century.

Talcahuano is located in the extreme south of the central zone of Chile.

The municipality of Talcahuano has an area of 148.29 km² and, according to the 2002 Census, has a population of 250,348 inhabitants.

Talcahuano contains Chile's main naval base which is home of the historical relic, the Huascár, a Peruvian ironclad ship which was captured in 1879 during the War of the Pacific.

Talcahuano entered football history when Ramón Unzaga Asla, a player for the local club Estrella del Mar, invented the famous bicycle kick there in 1914.