Temuco, city, southern Chile. It lies on the Río Cautín.
It was founded in 1881 as a frontier outpost after the area was ceded to Chile in a treaty signed on nearby Cerro (Hill) Nielol with the Araucanian Indians, long inhabitants of the region. Temuco’s development was aided by the arrival of European settlers, especially Germans.
Wheat, apples, cattle, timber, barley, oats, and other products are processed. Temuco has a military air base, a cathedral, a university, and several missionary schools. Accessible by the Pan-American Highway and the main north-south railroad, Temuco is regarded as a gateway to Chile’s lake district to the south and Conguillio National Park to the northeast and is the base for the ski resort of Volcán (Volcano) Llaima (peak; 10,249 feet [3,124 metres]), 50 miles (80 km) east. Pop. (2002) city, 227,086; (2017) municipality, 282,415.