A commune (, ) is the smallest administrative subdivision in Chile. At least that is the common explanation, even though comunas consist of still-smaller administrative subdivisions. These may be  cities, towns, villages, hamlets as well as rural areas. In highly populated areas, such as Santiago, Valparaíso and Concepción, a conurbation may be broken into several communes. In sparsely populated areas, conversely, a comuna may cover a substantial rural area together with several settled areas which could range from hamlets to towns or cities.