Copiapó

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Copiapó
Coordinates: 27 ° 22 ′  S , 70 ° 20 ′  W
Map: Chile
marker
Copiapó
Copiapo on the map of Chile
Basic data
Country Chile
Residents 150,962  (2017)
City insignia
Escudo de Copiapó.svg
Bandera de Copiapó.png
Detailed data
height 391  m
Copiapó, atardecer de Otoño.jpg

Copiapó is a city in the Lesser North of Chile in the Región de Atacama . It has 150,962 inhabitants (as of 2017).

Geography and climate

Copiapó is located about 800 km north of Santiago in the Copiapó Valley, which is formed by the Río Copiapó . The area is in the Atacama desert and has little rain (12 mm / year).

However, the proximity of the valley to the banks is relatively fertile. The city itself is therefore quite green.

history

The Diaguita already lived in the Copiapó Valley in pre-Hispanic times . 40 km southeast of Tierra Amarilla is the small Inca palace La Puerta near Los Loros .

On June 4, 1536, Diego de Almagro reached the Copiapó Valley. In 1662 a Franciscan monastery was founded. Copiapó itself was founded on December 8, 1744 by José Antonio Manso de Velasco .

In 1832 the Chañarcillo silver deposit was discovered. In 1851 a railway connection to Caldera was established and inaugurated on December 25th. In 1857 the city received a mine management school. The silver rush that had turned the city into a cultural center ended around 1870.

In 1859 there was the Revolución Constituyente in Copiapó and Chañarcillo . The mine owner Emiterio Goyenechea introduced his own silver currency in the Atacama region. The city of Copiapó minted its own silver pesos and centavos because it wanted to split off from the central government. The government of Manuel Montt Torres then sent troops to suppress the revolution. On April 29, 1859, an army unit under Lieutenant Salvador Urrutia defeated General Pedro León Gallo's revolutionaries near La Serena .

In 1865 during the Spanish-South American War in 1865, Copiapó pesos and centavos were minted again.

On November 10, 1922, 40% of the city was destroyed by a very severe earthquake , another earthquake on August 3, 1978 led to the collapse of buildings, 60% of the houses are considered uninhabitable.

On August 5, 2010, there was a mining accident in the San José copper and gold mine , 45 kilometers north of Copiapó. A collapse caused by a mountain fall trapped 33 people 700 meters below the surface. On August 22, 2010 a rescue well was successful and reached the 33 miners. As a result, several rescue drillings with a diameter of 60 cm were started to rescue the miners. On October 9, it was possible to reach the miners again with a borehole of sufficient width (Schramm T130). At 05:05 a.m. (CEST) on October 13, 2010, the direct rescue of the miners began by means of an escape capsule and the miners being carried up individually. It was successfully completed with the recovery of the last miner the following day at 5:30 a.m. (CEST).

Attractions

The Plaza de Armas is one of the most beautiful squares in the country and is overgrown with ancient pepper trees. In the city you can see one of the oldest locomotives in South America, the Locomotora Copiapó , which ran between the caldera and the city from 1851 to 1860 .

The Mineralogical Museum is also worthwhile . On the banks of the Río Copiapó is the Parque Pretil with a forest and a small animal park. You can learn a lot about the history of Copiapo in the Matta Museum, which houses numerous documents and objects from the family history of the famous Matta family.

Tours in the Nevado Tres Cruces (National Park) with its 590 km² are particularly suitable for friends of the mountains.

economy

Copiapó is considered the center of mining. The copper and iron mines are south of the city at Tierra Amarilla . The city lies on the Panamericana . Aeropuerto Chamonate Airport is 15 km west of Copiapó . A lot of wine is grown in the Copiapó Valley .

sons and daughters of the town

See also

Web links

Commons : Copiapó  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. turichile.cl: Copiapo (Chile) (English), accessed on December 24, 2011