Antofagasta Region
Antofagasta is a region in northern Chile (Region II).
History
The settlement in the Atacama desert goes back very far, already 5500 BC settled the Chinchorro coastal areas. In San Pedro de Atacama are prehistoric settlement finds the Atacama, which are about 3000 years old, such as the place Tulor. The first urban settlements like in the Atacama originated from about 100 BC, for example, the Pukará Fort ( Pukará Quitor ). Of the Atacameños it was built, to protect themselves against the other South American nations. It was later taken over by the Incas.
At Río Loa lie the ruins of the pre-Columbian fortress Pukara de Lasana.
Francisco Pizarro sent Pedro de Valdivia in 1540 from the conquest of northern Chile. Valdivia came across hostile Indian tribes, such as the Mapuche, ' Michimalonco ', ' Tangalonco ' and ' Atepudo '. These fought partially with each other. In the same year, he also reached the area around Calama.
Before the Salpeterboom the port of Antofagasta hardly played a role, Bolivia showed little interest in the city, in the most part lived only Chileans. 1866, the city of Antofagasta were discovered large saltpetre deposits around 40 kilometers east. 1873 a railway line to Salinas was established for the nitric transport. Also the export of guano fertilizer played a major economic role in this period.
The affiliation of the Antofagasta region has long been unclear, from 1866 to 1879 it belonged officially to Bolivia after Bolivia and Chile forward agreed contractually, and Chile had to pay for it for his business there for 25 years of no taxes. 1877 coast to Antofagasta was hit by a severe tsunami. The Bolivian president declared this clause beginning of 1878 null and void, and dated then even the polemical taxes up to 1874 back. As Chile and the company refused, they were confiscated and offered in January 1879 auction. Chilean troops landed then in the port and the region was in the saltpeter from Chile, from his perspective, recaptured. In 1907 there were about 36,000 people in the Tarapacá and Antofagasta regions of Salpetergebieten.
1929 plunged the region into a severe economic crisis since the nitric paragraph was practically completely collapsed.
Geography
The region consists of three provinces.
The largest cities are:
- Capital Antofagasta 230,000 inhabitants
- Calama 145,000 inhabitants
- Tocopilla 23,000 inhabitants
- Mejillones 9,000 inhabitants
- San Pedro de Atacama 5,000 inhabitants
The Río Loa is the longest river of Chile with around 443 km, which also flows through the city of Calama.
In the east, the region stretches for hundreds of kilometers of mountain range Cordillera Domeyko, which is named after the Polish geologists Ignacy Domeyko, the long time in Chile worked.
Economy
In the region of copper ( Chuquicamata and Escondida ) and smaller amounts of sulfur are mainly promoted. On the coast fishing plays a certain role. Tourism is an important revenue branch in this vast desert landscape.
Tourism
The landscape is dominated by the dry Atacama Desert. Main attractions are the abandoned ghost villages from the saltpeter and copper open pit mine Chuquicamata.
The salt lakes and geysers at El Tatio are also frequently visited. Pink flamingos can find at the salt lakes in great numbers. The Salar de Atacama is around 3000 km ², the largest salt lake in Chile, which is fed by tributaries from the Cordilleras. Due to the desert climate, however, the water evaporates quickly. The geysers are higher than 2000 m San Pedro de Atacama on a plateau in the Andes. They are the highest geysers in the world.
In the Valley of the Moon Valley of the Moon you meet impressive geological formations, it is located near Calama.
The Archaeological Museum of the Belgian Padre Gustavo Le Paige RP in San Pedro de Atacama shows numerous finds from the Atacama Desert.