Quellón is a Chilean port city and commune in Chiloé Province, in southern Chiloé Island, Los Lagos Region. It is considered the southern end-station of the Panamerican Highway and the Pacific Coast Highway. The city is a hub for aquaculture and fisheries in southern Chiloé and the Guaitecas and Chonos archipelagoes to the south. Various ferry lanes connects Quellón with the Patagonian settlements such as Melinka, Puerto Cisnes and Puerto Chacabuco. In Quellón the majority of men work on small boats called "lanchas" for days at a time fishing. Also many men and women work in local seafood processing plants. Climate Quellón has an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb) with some drying trend in summer. Winters are cool and wet but mild with a July average of . During this time of the year, precipitation is very high, averaging around from June to August and humidity is high, averaging around 85–87%. Few days are dry in winter, since there are 22–24 days with measurable precipitation from June to August. Nonetheless, snowfall is rare and most years will record no snowfall. Summers are mild with a January average of and during this time, precipitation is lower, averaging in February, the driest month. Temperatures can occasionally exceed anytime from September to June. One characteristic of the climate is that Quellón, like the rest of the central and southern parts of Chiloé island is exposed to strong westerly winds throughout the year. The average annual precipitation is , with significant amounts in all months; the 4 months with the most precipitation make up 50% of the total annual precipitation. On average, there are 239 days with measureable precipitation. The record high was in January 1978 and the record low was in June 1971 and August 1975. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Quellón spans an area of and has 21,823 inhabitants (11,595 men and 10,228 women). Of these, 13,656 (62.6%) lived in urban areas and 8,167 (37.4%) in rural areas. The population grew by 45% (6,768 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses. Administration As a commune, Quellón is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Iván Haro Uribe (RN). Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Quellón is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Gabriel Ascencio (PDC)