Tarapacá Region
Tarapacá is a region in northern Chile (Region I).
Tarapacá was by his huge saltpeter and guano deposits in the Atacama Desert in 1800 already very well known. The Atacama Desert is one of the driest regions of the world.
Tarapacá consists of the provinces of Iquique and Tamarugal, which are divided into seven municipalities.
History
As early as 1809 began large-scale mining of saltpeter, this was used for explosives production and as a fertilizer. As of 1853, the degradation was greatly accelerated by the use of steam engines.
To speed up the transport was erected in 1871 a railway line from the port of Iquique to La Noria area, followed by the railway Pozo Almonte to the port Pisagua. The southern railway line reached to Lagunas. A nitrate works queued to the other on the entire route. Peru itself built on the territory of guano, which financed a large part of its national budget. It turned out that saltpeter was a much more powerful fertilizer. Peru was in 1877 its guano not let go, more than 650,000 tons were in the ports.
Between the Chilean Salpeterwerks operators and the Bolivian government in 1879, there was a dispute. The Bolivian government had high taxes on imported saltpeter, who did not want to pay the Chileans. Bolivia confiscated then the saltpeter works. The Chilean Army occupied then the Bolivian ports, as the city of Antofagasta.
Chile fought against Bolivia and Peru saltpeter in 1879-1883. Having the Chileans had occupied the Bolivian port cities, the Bolivian dictator Hilarión Daza sent in April 1879 his troops coming from Arica to support Peru. The move ended miserably, the troops almost die of thirst in the Atacama desert and had to turn back. The failure led to the dismissal of Daza. The naval battles of Iquique and Punta Gruesa on May 21, 1879 had brought the preliminary decision for the achievement of the Chilean naval supremacy.
The Tarapacá province was finally made in the Treaty of Ancon in 1883 by Peru to Chile.
The cities of Arica and Tacna remained for a long time occupied by Chile. In 1929 Arica Chile was struck and Tacna remained in Peru.
The region has been frequently hit by severe earthquakes and tsunamis that wreaked much destruction (for example, in Arica 1868). Finally, it came on 14 November 2007 a severe earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale. The worst affected areas were the city of Tocopilla and the place María Elena near the epicenter about 170 kilometers northeast of Antofagasta. On the evening of April 1, 2014, it came at the coast of the city of Tarapacá to a quake of magnitude 8.2.
On 8 October 2007, the northern provinces of Arica and Parinacota were separated in order to create a new region, the XV. Region or Región de Arica y Parinacota, at the same time the province of El Tamarugal was created, which was part of the province of Iquique until then.
Geography and climate
Tarapacá is located on the Pacific Ocean. Shortly behind the coast begins the Atacama Desert. In the east the volcanoes of the Western Cordillera are in Central Andes. Here also lie the vast salt lakes.
The largest cities are the capital of Iquique, Tarapacá and Pisagua.
The capital city of Iquique has around 227,000 inhabitants. Main sights are the long Pacific beach, Salpetergeschichte and prehistoric finds from the time of the Incas.
The Tarapacá region comprises 41,800 km ² and is relatively sparsely populated, with around 445,000 people.
Major rivers include the Río Lauca and the Río Lluta.
The region is extremely dry, there is little rainfall. Only the Andes feed the rivers, many of which end up in the desert or in salt lakes.
Attractions
The coastal city of Iquique offers great beaches and many historical places.
The dilapidated Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter 50 km east of Iquique are UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 2005. These ghost towns are a popular and much visited destination in the Atacama desert.
Economy
Mining is the main economic activity. Therefore, the ports play an important role, because they serve the export of ores, sulfur and saltpeter. Also, the fishing and the processing of crude oil plays a role. Due to the long beaches and the tourism plays a significant role.