Antofagasta
For the copper-mining company named after the region, see Antofagasta plc.
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Antofagasta is bordered by the Pacific Ocean on the west and steep hills to the east |
() is a
port city and
episcopal see in northern
Chile, about 700 miles north of
Santiago. It is the capital of both
Antofagasta Province and
Antofagasta Region, and according to the 2002 census has a population of 318,779. The city's name comes from either
Quechua term for "town of the great saltpeter bed" or the aymara word that means "Great Salar ".
Antofagasta is a long and narrow city located just south of the
Península de Mejillones and north of the
Cerro Coloso, 768 miles north of Valparaiso in 23°38'39S latitude and 70°24'39W longitude. The city is surrounded by steep hills that are part of Chile's
Cordillera de la Costa ("mountain range of the coast") on its eastern edge, and by the
Pacific Ocean to the west.
Antofagasta lies in the
Atacama Desert, among the
Earth's driest regions. According to The Chilean Geological Magazine annual rainfall in the city averages less than 4 mm, and there was a period of 40 years when no rain fell at all.[
1]
Mejillones is a small port 65 km to the north, on the northern part of Península de Mejillones. About 25 km north of Antofagasta is
Hornitos Antofagasta, a beach that attracts both tourists and locals.
Tocopilla is a coastal city located 188 km north of Antofagasta.
Calama, the second-largest city in the Antofagasta Region, is located 213 km northeast of the regional capital.
La Negra is a medium-sized industrial complex some 10 km to the east of Antofagasta, on the
Pan-American Highway.
The first native inhabitants were the
Changos, whose fished, gathered shellfish, and hunted
sea lions. The region was also part of the
Incan Empire.
Founded between
1866 and
1874 as a seaport for the recently-discovered
silver mines nearby, Antofagasta's original name was
Peñas Blancas (
Spanish for "White Boulders"). It was originally part of
Bolivia as the
Litoral Province but passed into Chilean hands on
February 14,
1879 when it was invaded and occupied by Chilean troops. This marked the beginning of the
War of the Pacific. Antofagasta is sometimes referred as the
Captive Province. It had been colonized by Chileans for many years before that. The Bolivian Government has tirelessly worked on one day regaining control of its lost city.
Although Antofagasta is in a very arid zone, its development was and is still based upon extraction of raw materials found in the area, shifting from
guano to
potassium nitrate (
saltpeter) to
copper over the years. Antofagasta is now the main copper port of Chile. Antofagasta's industrial mainstay is based on providing housing and services to the mining companies and operations that surround the city.
Antofagasta's industrial complex is situated to the north of the city. The city also has a small agricultural zone in Quebrada La Chimba.
With a population of more than 300,000, Antofagasta is the fourth-largest city in Chile. Its inhabitants are principally Chilean, with significant
Croatian and
Greek minorities. As there are several large mines near Antofagasta, temporary
migrant workers in the mines form a significant portion of residents.
Antofagasta has an
airport (Aeropuerto Cerro Moreno) with civilian and military operations. The city also has two seaports: one is a state port, located near downtown Antofagasta. The other is part of La Escondida copper mine and located to the south of the city, near Cerro Coloso.
To the north of the city, La Portada de Antofagasta(The Front Of Antofagasta), a natural monument, is famous for its beauty.
The city has several educational facilies, both private and public.
Universities
Two major public universities (
Universidad Católica del Norte and
Universidad de Antofagasta) operate in the city, atracting students not only from Antofagasta but from other nortern cities like
Iquique and
Calama.Several private universities (Universidad del Mar, Universidad Mayor, and others) have arrived to the city from 2002. Before that year, Universidad José Santos Ossa (now disappeared) was the only one private university working in the city.
Schools
While the public schools are distributed almost uniformally all over the city, the private schools operate mainly in the central and southern part of the city, where the most wealthy inhabitants reside.
