Antofagasta Region
Encyclopedia
The II Antofagasta Region is one of Chile
's fifteen first-order administrative divisions
. It comprises three provinces, Antofagasta
, El Loa and Tocopilla
. It is bordered to the north by Tarapacá
and by Atacama
to the south and is the second-largest region of Chile
.
The capital of the region is the port
city of Antofagasta
, another important city is Calama
.
around the Andes
. In pre-Columbian times, the coastline was populated by nomadic fishing clans of Changos
Indians, of which very little is known, due to very limited contact with the Spanish conquerors.
The inland section was populated by the Atacaman culture around the great dry salt lake called Salar de Atacama
, the Loa River
basin and valleys and oasis across the altiplano, with the most important settlement being the village of San Pedro de Atacama
.
The Atacaman culture was deeply influenced by Tiwanaku
culture and later fell under Inca rule. Atacamans' harvested mainly corn and beans and developed trade as far as the Amazon basin
and Pacific shores. The arrival of the Spaniards in the 16th century did not destroy the culture but transformed it deeply through the process of mestizaje, in which both cultures mixed. Under the Spanish rule, Atacaman territory (only the inlands), was placed under the administration of Charcas
Audience and at the time of independence general Simón Bolívar
integrated (both inland and coast regions) into the new Republic of Bolivia
, under the name of "Litoral
". This decision was disputed by the Chilean Government and has been a source of conflict until present times. Chile claimed that according to the Uti possidetis
of the Spanish crown, the coastal region belong to them and their territory bordered directly with Peru
.
Chileans explorers such as Juan López
and José Santos Ossa discovered rich nitrate
and guano
deposits which produced a massive Chilean colonization of the coastline. Friction between the new settlers from both countries grew until 1879 when the War of the Pacific
erupted. Antofagasta was permanently annexed by the Chilean government at the end of the war.
Colonization by Chileans followed mainly from the "Little North" (the contemporary regions of Atacama and Coquimbo
, also known as the III and IV regions), into the new territories of Antofagasta and Tarapacá, nicknamed the Norte Grande or "the Great North".
In the early 20th century the region became a significant base of Chile's union-organizing movements. It continued to depend economically on the nitrate-extraction industry until its replacement by copper mining. Two of the largest and richest open pit mines in the world are located in Antofagasta: La Escondida and Chuquicamata
.
, is the south-central part of the Atacama Desert
, the driest desert in the world. Further to the east, it is part of the less arid Central Andean dry puna
ecoregion.
The surroundings of abandoned Yungay town have been named the driest place in the world.
and Mejillones
, or in Calama, Chile
in the interior, the hub of the mining industry and the home of a large part of its work force.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, immigrant settlers also arrived from Europe (mainly Croatians, Italians, Spaniards, Greeks
, English
, French
and Portuguese
peoples), from Arab
countries such as Lebanon
and Syria
, and plus smaller numbers from China
, Japan
, Korea
, Peru
and Bolivia
. Various immigration flows joined with the culture of the altiplano region creating the modern culture of the north of Chile, which arguably presents more Andean- and multi-European-features than the Central Valley and mainstream Chilean culture.
, gold
, iodine
, and lithium
. The mining industry accounts for 93.7% of the region’s exports.
Fishing and manufacturing also contribute to the income of the area.
The availability of infrastructure and services, due to the region’s mining boom, together with its abundance of beautiful natural scenery, have opened vast prospects for the travel industry, both in the interior and on the coast. Interesting tourist attractions include the small town of San Pedro de Atacama
, once the center of the Atacameño culture, Atacama Salt Flat, the Valley of the Moon, the Quitor Pukará, the Puritama hot springs and the numerous astronomical observatories including the Very Large Telescope
.
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
's fifteen first-order administrative divisions
Administrative divisions of Chile
The administrative division or territorial organization of Chile exemplifies characteristics of a unitary state. State administration is functionally and geographically decentralized, as appropriate for each authority in accordance with the law....
. It comprises three provinces, Antofagasta
Antofagasta Province
Antofagasta Province is one of three provinces in the northern Chilean region of Antofagasta . The capital is the port city of Antofagasta. Located within the Atacama Desert, it borders the El Loa and Tocopilla provinces to the north, Bolivia to the west and the Atacama Region to the...
, El Loa and Tocopilla
Tocopilla
Tocopilla is a city and commune in the Antofagasta Region, in the north of Chile. It is the capital of the province that bears the same name.Tocopilla celebrates its anniversary on September 29 every year with a big show the day before, which includes a parade down the main street of the city, food...
. It is bordered to the north by Tarapacá
Tarapacá Region
The I Tarapacá Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. It borders the Chilean Arica and Parinacota Region to the north, Bolivia's Oruro Department on the east, the Antofagasta Region on the south and the Pacific Ocean on the west. The port city of Iquique The I Tarapacá...
and by Atacama
Atacama Region
The Atacama Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. It comprises three provinces, Chañaral, Copiapó and Huasco. It is bordered to the north by Antofagasta, to the south by Coquimbo, to east with Provinces of Catamarca, La Rioja and San Juan of Argentina, and to west with...
to the south and is the second-largest region of Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
.
The capital of the region is the port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
city of Antofagasta
Antofagasta
Antofagasta is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2002 census, the city has a population of 296,905...
, another important city is Calama
Calama, Chile
Calama is a city and commune in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. It is the capital of El Loa Province, part of the Antofagasta Region. Calama is one of the driest cities in the world with average annual precipitation of just . The River Loa, Chile's longest, flows through the city...
.
History
Antofagasta's history is divided, as the territory, in two sections, the coastal region and the highlands plateau or altiplanoAltiplano
The Altiplano , in west-central South America, where the Andes are at their widest, is the most extensive area of high plateau on Earth outside of Tibet...
around the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
. In pre-Columbian times, the coastline was populated by nomadic fishing clans of Changos
Changos
Changos was a tribe of native South Americans who appear to have originally inhabited the Peruvian coast and spread south to the coast of Atacama, in northern Chile and further south. They lived from fishing, gathering shellfish, and hunting sea lions. In former times they used rafts of inflated...
Indians, of which very little is known, due to very limited contact with the Spanish conquerors.
The inland section was populated by the Atacaman culture around the great dry salt lake called Salar de Atacama
Salar de Atacama
Salar de Atacama is the largest salt flat in Chile. It is located south of San Pedro de Atacama, is surrounded by mountains and has no drainage outlets. To the east is enclosed by the main chain of the Andes, while to the west lies a secondary mountain range of the Andes called Cordillera de Domeyko...
, the Loa River
Loa River
The Loa River is a U-shaped river in Chile's northern Antofagasta Region. At 440 km long it is the country's longest river and the main watercourse in the Atacama Desert.-Course:...
basin and valleys and oasis across the altiplano, with the most important settlement being the village of San Pedro de Atacama
San Pedro de Atacama
San Pedro de Atacama is a Chilean town and commune in El Loa Province, Antofagasta Region. It is located east of Antofagasta, some 106 km southeast of Calama and the Chuquicamata copper mine, overlooking the Licancabur volcano. It features a significant archeological museum, the R. P...
.
The Atacaman culture was deeply influenced by Tiwanaku
Tiwanaku
Tiwanaku, is an important Pre-Columbian archaeological site in western Bolivia, South America. Tiwanaku is recognized by Andean scholars as one of the most important precursors to the Inca Empire, flourishing as the ritual and administrative capital of a major state power for approximately five...
culture and later fell under Inca rule. Atacamans' harvested mainly corn and beans and developed trade as far as the Amazon basin
Amazon Basin
The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries that drains an area of about , or roughly 40 percent of South America. The basin is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela...
and Pacific shores. The arrival of the Spaniards in the 16th century did not destroy the culture but transformed it deeply through the process of mestizaje, in which both cultures mixed. Under the Spanish rule, Atacaman territory (only the inlands), was placed under the administration of Charcas
Charcas
Charcas may refer to:* Charcas Province, a province in Potosí Department, Bolivia* Real Audiencia of Charcas, one of six political units of the Viceroyalty of Peru* Charcas, a historical name of Sucre, capital of Bolivia...
Audience and at the time of independence general Simón Bolívar
Simón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...
integrated (both inland and coast regions) into the new Republic of Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, under the name of "Litoral
Littoral
The littoral zone is that part of a sea, lake or river that is close to the shore. In coastal environments the littoral zone extends from the high water mark, which is rarely inundated, to shoreline areas that are permanently submerged. It always includes this intertidal zone and is often used to...
". This decision was disputed by the Chilean Government and has been a source of conflict until present times. Chile claimed that according to the Uti possidetis
Uti possidetis
Uti possidetis is a principle in international law that territory and other property remains with its possessor at the end of a conflict, unless otherwise provided for by treaty; if such a treaty doesn't include conditions regarding the possession of property and territory taken during the war,...
of the Spanish crown, the coastal region belong to them and their territory bordered directly with Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
.
Chileans explorers such as Juan López
Juan López
- People :* Juan Carlos López Marin, Colombian cyclist* Juan Fernando López Aguilar , Spanish politician* Juan López , New York Mets bullpen pitcher...
and José Santos Ossa discovered rich nitrate
Nitrate
The nitrate ion is a polyatomic ion with the molecular formula NO and a molecular mass of 62.0049 g/mol. It is the conjugate base of nitric acid, consisting of one central nitrogen atom surrounded by three identically-bonded oxygen atoms in a trigonal planar arrangement. The nitrate ion carries a...
and guano
Guano
Guano is the excrement of seabirds, cave dwelling bats, and seals. Guano manure is an effective fertilizer due to its high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and also its lack of odor. It was an important source of nitrates for gunpowder...
deposits which produced a massive Chilean colonization of the coastline. Friction between the new settlers from both countries grew until 1879 when the War of the Pacific
War of the Pacific
The War of the Pacific took place in western South America from 1879 through 1883. Chile fought against Bolivia and Peru. Despite cooperation among the three nations in the war against Spain, disputes soon arose over the mineral-rich Peruvian provinces of Tarapaca, Tacna, and Arica, and the...
erupted. Antofagasta was permanently annexed by the Chilean government at the end of the war.
Colonization by Chileans followed mainly from the "Little North" (the contemporary regions of Atacama and Coquimbo
Coquimbo
Coquimbo is a port city, commune and capital of the Elqui Province, located on the Pan-American Highway, in the Coquimbo Region of Chile. Coquimbo lies in a valley south of La Serena, with which it forms Greater La Serena with more than 400,000 inhabitants. The commune spans an area around the...
, also known as the III and IV regions), into the new territories of Antofagasta and Tarapacá, nicknamed the Norte Grande or "the Great North".
In the early 20th century the region became a significant base of Chile's union-organizing movements. It continued to depend economically on the nitrate-extraction industry until its replacement by copper mining. Two of the largest and richest open pit mines in the world are located in Antofagasta: La Escondida and Chuquicamata
Chuquicamata
Chuquicamata, or "Chuqui" as it is more familiarly known, is by digged volume the biggest open pit copper mine in the world, located in the north of Chile, 215 km northeast of Antofagasta and 1,240 km north of the capital, Santiago...
.
Administration
Each province in the region is further subdivided into communes.| Province Provinces of Chile A province is the second largest administrative division in Chile, after a region. Each region is divided into provinces. There are 54 provinces in total.... |
Capital | Communes | Other towns |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antofagasta Antofagasta Province Antofagasta Province is one of three provinces in the northern Chilean region of Antofagasta . The capital is the port city of Antofagasta. Located within the Atacama Desert, it borders the El Loa and Tocopilla provinces to the north, Bolivia to the west and the Atacama Region to the... |
Antofagasta Antofagasta Antofagasta is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2002 census, the city has a population of 296,905... |
Antofagasta | |
| Mejillones Mejillones Mejillones is a Chilean port city and commune in Antofagasta Province, Antofagasta Region. Its name is the plural form of the Spanish mejillón meaning "mussel", referring to a particularly abundant species and preferred staple food of its indigenous inhabitants. It is situated in the northern side... |
Hornitos | ||
| Sierra Gorda Sierra Gorda The Sierra Gorda is an ecological region centered on the northern third of the state of Querétaro and extending into the neighboring states of Guanajuato, Hidalgo and San Luis Potosí... |
|||
| Taltal Taltal Taltal is a Chilean commune and city in Antofagasta Province, Antofagasta Region. According to the 2002 census, the commune population was 11,000 and has an area of .... |
|||
| El Loa El Loa Province El Loa Province is one of three provinces of the northern Chilean region of Antofagasta . It is named after the longest of rivers in Chile, the Loa River... |
Calama Calama, Chile Calama is a city and commune in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. It is the capital of El Loa Province, part of the Antofagasta Region. Calama is one of the driest cities in the world with average annual precipitation of just . The River Loa, Chile's longest, flows through the city... |
Calama | Ayquina Ayquina Ayquina is a village located on the northern flank of Salado River Canyon in the Calama commune of the El Loa Province in Chile's Antofagasta Region. It sits at an elevation of above sea level... Caspana Caspana Caspana is a Chilean village located 85 km northeast of the city of Calama, in the gorge carved by the river that shared its name and that is a tributary of the Salado River. Agricultural terraces form part of the landscape of the area.-References:... Lasana Lasana Lasana is a small village located northeast of the city of Calama in the Calama province of Chile's northern Antofagasta Region. It sits along the banks of the Loa River.... San Francisco de Chiu Chiu San Francisco de Chiu Chiu San Francisco de Chiu Chiu, or simply Chiu Chiu, is a village located about northeast of the city of Calama, in the Calama province of Chile's northern Antofagasta Region... Toconce Toconce Toconce is a small Chilean village located on the south rim of the Toconce River Canyon at 3,350 m above sea level. To the north, the landscape is dominated by the volcanoes Cerro Paniri, Cerro del León and Toconce.... |
| Ollagüe Ollagüe, Chile Ollagüe is a Chilean frontier village and commune in El Loa Province, Antofagasta Region. The village is located 215 km northeast of the city of Calama with a station on the FCAB railine.... |
|||
| San Pedro de Atacama San Pedro de Atacama San Pedro de Atacama is a Chilean town and commune in El Loa Province, Antofagasta Region. It is located east of Antofagasta, some 106 km southeast of Calama and the Chuquicamata copper mine, overlooking the Licancabur volcano. It features a significant archeological museum, the R. P... |
Socaire Socaire Socaire is a village located southeast of the town of San Pedro de Atacama, in the San Pedro de Atacama province of Chile's northern Antofagasta Region. It offers views overlooking the Salar de Atacama.... Toconao Toconao Toconao is a village south of San Pedro de Atacama in the San Pedro de Atacama province of Chile's northern Antofagasta Region. It lies at an elevation of above sea level, close to the northeast margin of the Salar de Atacama.... |
||
| Tocopilla Tocopilla Province Tocopilla Province is one of the three provinces in the northern Chilean region of Antofagasta . Its capital is the city of Tocopilla.-Geography and demography:... |
Tocopilla Tocopilla Tocopilla is a city and commune in the Antofagasta Region, in the north of Chile. It is the capital of the province that bears the same name.Tocopilla celebrates its anniversary on September 29 every year with a big show the day before, which includes a parade down the main street of the city, food... |
Tocopilla | |
| María Elena María Elena María Elena is a Chilean city and commune in Tocopilla Province, Antofagasta Region. According to the 2002 census, the commune population was 7,530 and has an area of .- History :... |
Climate
The average rainfall in the Antofagasta is just 1 millimetre (0.0393700787401575 in) per year. From the coast, east to the Chilean Coast RangeChilean Coast Range
The Chilean Coastal Range is a mountain range that runs from north to south along the Pacific coast of South America parallel to the Andean Mountains, extending from Morro de Arica in the north to Taitao Peninsula, where it ends at the Chile Triple Junction, in the south. The range has a strong...
, is the south-central part of the Atacama Desert
Atacama Desert
The Atacama Desert is a plateau in South America, covering a strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes mountains. It is, according to NASA, National Geographic and many other publications, the driest desert in the world...
, the driest desert in the world. Further to the east, it is part of the less arid Central Andean dry puna
Central Andean dry puna
The Central Andean dry puna is an ecoregion, in the Montane grasslands and shrublands biome, located in the Andean High plateau, in South America...
ecoregion.
The surroundings of abandoned Yungay town have been named the driest place in the world.
Demography
Most of the population lives on the coast in AntofagastaAntofagasta
Antofagasta is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2002 census, the city has a population of 296,905...
and Mejillones
Mejillones
Mejillones is a Chilean port city and commune in Antofagasta Province, Antofagasta Region. Its name is the plural form of the Spanish mejillón meaning "mussel", referring to a particularly abundant species and preferred staple food of its indigenous inhabitants. It is situated in the northern side...
, or in Calama, Chile
Calama, Chile
Calama is a city and commune in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. It is the capital of El Loa Province, part of the Antofagasta Region. Calama is one of the driest cities in the world with average annual precipitation of just . The River Loa, Chile's longest, flows through the city...
in the interior, the hub of the mining industry and the home of a large part of its work force.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, immigrant settlers also arrived from Europe (mainly Croatians, Italians, Spaniards, Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
, English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
, French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
and Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
peoples), from Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
countries such as Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
and Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, and plus smaller numbers from China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
and Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
. Various immigration flows joined with the culture of the altiplano region creating the modern culture of the north of Chile, which arguably presents more Andean- and multi-European-features than the Central Valley and mainstream Chilean culture.
Economy
The Antofagasta Region is the heart of the mining industry, Chile’s main source of export revenue. It represents 53% of Chile’s mining output, led by copper and followed by potassium nitratePotassium nitrate
Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the formula KNO3. It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitrate ions NO3−.It occurs as a mineral niter and is a natural solid source of nitrogen. Its common names include saltpetre , from medieval Latin sal petræ: "stone salt" or possibly "Salt...
, gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
, iodine
Iodine
Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The name is pronounced , , or . The name is from the , meaning violet or purple, due to the color of elemental iodine vapor....
, and lithium
Lithium
Lithium is a soft, silver-white metal that belongs to the alkali metal group of chemical elements. It is represented by the symbol Li, and it has the atomic number 3. Under standard conditions it is the lightest metal and the least dense solid element. Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly...
. The mining industry accounts for 93.7% of the region’s exports.
Fishing and manufacturing also contribute to the income of the area.
The availability of infrastructure and services, due to the region’s mining boom, together with its abundance of beautiful natural scenery, have opened vast prospects for the travel industry, both in the interior and on the coast. Interesting tourist attractions include the small town of San Pedro de Atacama
San Pedro de Atacama
San Pedro de Atacama is a Chilean town and commune in El Loa Province, Antofagasta Region. It is located east of Antofagasta, some 106 km southeast of Calama and the Chuquicamata copper mine, overlooking the Licancabur volcano. It features a significant archeological museum, the R. P...
, once the center of the Atacameño culture, Atacama Salt Flat, the Valley of the Moon, the Quitor Pukará, the Puritama hot springs and the numerous astronomical observatories including the Very Large Telescope
Very Large Telescope
The Very Large Telescope is a telescope operated by the European Southern Observatory on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. The VLT consists of four individual telescopes, each with a primary mirror 8.2m across, which are generally used separately but can be used together to...
.
See also
- 2007 Tocopilla earthquake
- Atacama border disputeAtacama border disputeThe Atacama border dispute was a dispute between Chile and Bolivia in the 19th century that ended in the transfer to Chile of all of the Bolivian Coast and the southern tip of Bolivia's ally Peru through the Treaty of Ancón with Peru and the Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1904 between Chile and...
- Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a BoliviaFerrocarril de Antofagasta a BoliviaThe Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia is a private railway operating in the northern provinces of Chile. It is notable in that it was one of the earliest railways built to the gauge of , with a route that climbed from sea level to over , while handling goods traffic totaling near 2 million tons...
- War of the PacificWar of the PacificThe War of the Pacific took place in western South America from 1879 through 1883. Chile fought against Bolivia and Peru. Despite cooperation among the three nations in the war against Spain, disputes soon arose over the mineral-rich Peruvian provinces of Tarapaca, Tacna, and Arica, and the...
- Norte GrandeNorte GrandeNorte Grande is a civil parish in the municipality of Velas on the island of São Jorge in the Azores; owing to the existence of an ecumenical faith community throughout its history, the parish has also taken on the name of its religious invokation...
, natural region of Chile
External links
- Gobierno Regional de Antofagasta Official website