Antofagasta
Antofagasta on the map of Chile
Antofagasta is a city in the north of the South American Andean country Chile. It has 306 700 inhabitants ( as of 2004). The city's name comes from the Quechua language and means roughly village on the Great Salt Lake.
Geography
The desert city of Antofagasta is located on the Pacific coast, on the edge of the Atacama. The distance to Santiago is about 1400 km.
The climate is dry, but pleasant, very hot sometimes in the summer.
History
The political allegiance of today's region around Antofagasta was after the independence of South America from Spain, first between the newly created states unexplained. Bolivia claimed the area for its independence in 1825 and later founded 1827 about 130 km north of the present Antofagasta located port city Cobija. The few population of the region was, however, predominantly made up of citizens of Chile, one speaks of 90-95 %, which seven years earlier in 1818 rose to claim the region also has its own independence. Since it was a barren and seemingly useless desert region, both countries the question of no practical relevance to speak.
1866 discovered large deposits of nitrate ( saltpeter ) in the region, a very important and valuable raw material for the production of fertilizers and explosives was then, so that the question of the border now attained great economic and political importance.
1866 and 1874 there were agreements between Chile and Bolivia, in which the states agreed on a boundary line in the southern part of today's Antofagasta and thus largely due to the affiliation of the region to Bolivia. In return, Bolivia had to concede the right in the contract of 1874 Chilean companies for 25 years to reduce the nitrate deposits in the region without having to pay to the Bolivian state taxes.
Antofagasta was founded in 1870 as the location for the saltpetre and exploring the nitrate deposits in the Atacama Desert.
The city had a 1875 population of 5384th
In an earthquake in 1877, the coast was hit by a tsunami. Cobija was doing the hardest hit and damaged so badly that the local port was abandoned and commerce and administration laid to Antofagasta, an originally founded by Chilean city that became the economic and political center of the region.
In order to finance the reconstruction of the damage after the earthquake Bolivia in February 1878, a special tax of 10 centavos retroactive to 1874 per quintal mined saltpeter decided. Chile saw this as a breach of the Treaty of 1874 and protested. The Bolivian president, however, remained undeterred, the Chilean company confiscated nearly a year later in January 1879 and offered it for auction in Antofagasta. Then Chile saw the border treaty to be canceled, leaving land marines in the city. The Salpeter broke out and Antofagasta was captured on February 14, 1879 by Chilean troops.
A first agreement dated April 4, 1884 to secure the whereabouts of the territory in Chile, in the peace treaty of 1904 Bolivia recognized the whereabouts of Antofagasta in Chile on final. However, the Bolivian government of Evo Morales began in 2011 intensified international efforts to regain access to the Pacific. The validity of the Treaty of 1904 was publicly questioned.
Attractions
The city is popular for boat trips. In the city there are two beaches where the water is rather cold by the Humboldt Current. In the center of the city are worth seeing: the copper monument Independence Monument, the Railway Museum, the Cathedral and some buildings from colonial Spanish time.
Economy
The city's port was used in particular as a port of embarkation for saltpetre. Today, in particular copper and nitrate is exported. The city is a center for the export of mining products. In addition, steel is produced in the city. The city is rich, but looks rather poor. The city is located on the Panamerican Highway.
Large companies from copper and saltpetre sector lie in the area of the city, such as Empresa Minera de Mantos Blancos (copper), SQM (borax ), Compañía Minera Zaldivar (copper), Minera Escondida ( copper) and Atacama Minerals ( saltpeter ).
20 km outside the city, the Ciudad Empresarial La Negra industrial area with approximately 24 sq km area. Here lies the copper refinery Noranda.
North of town is the major airport Aeropuerto Internacional Cerro Moreno.
Education
In Antofagasta, there are several universities. The most important are the Universidad de Antofagasta and the Universidad Catolica del Norte, on the somewhat with the Astronomical Institute " Instituto de Astronomía de la Universidad Católica del Norte " in collaboration with astronomers from the Astronomical Institute of the Ruhr- University Bochum, the Hexapod - Telescope 100 km distant mountain Cerro Armazones in the Atacama Desert operates.
Sons and daughters of the town
- Jorge Letelier, painter
- Andronico Luksic, Chilean billionaire of Croatian descent
- Sergio Ortega, Chilean composer and pianist
- Dora Puelma, painter
- Antonio Skarmeta, Chilean writer of Croatian descent