Iquique

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Iquique
Coordinates: 20 ° 13 ′  S , 70 ° 9 ′  W
Map: Chile
marker
Iquique
Iquique on the map of Chile
Basic data
Country Chile
region Tarapacá
City foundation 19th century
Residents 189,065  (2017)
- in the metropolitan area 350,000
City insignia
Escudo de Iquique.svg
Bandera de Iquique, svg
Detailed data
Post Code 110 0000
Time zone UTC -4 (March - October), -3 (October - March)
City Presidency Jorge Soria
View of Iquique and the "dragon" dune
View of Iquique and the "dragon" dune

Iquique [ iˈkike ] is a port city in northern Chile . The capital of the Tarapacá region has 189,065 inhabitants (2017 census).

geography

location

To the west of the Atacama Desert , the city lies between the Pacific and Cordilleras , up to around 50 meters above sea level.

climate

The climate is extremely dry, the average annual temperature fluctuates around 21–22 degrees Celsius, and it rains very rarely.

Iquique
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.
 
 
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Temperature in ° Cprecipitation in mm
Source: WMO ; wetterkontor.de
Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Iquique
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 24.9 25.2 24.1 22.3 20.3 19.0 18.0 18.1 18.8 20.0 21.7 23.6 O 21.3
Min. Temperature (° C) 17.6 17.6 16.8 15.1 14.1 13.5 13.1 13.3 13.8 14.5 15.3 16.5 O 15.1
Precipitation ( mm ) 0 0 0 0 0 0.3 0.1 0 0.2 0 0 0 Σ 0.6
Hours of sunshine ( h / d ) 10.2 10.3 9.3 7.4 6.7 5.9 5.1 5.2 6.3 8.0 8.9 9.7 O 7.7
Rainy days ( d ) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 Σ 0.5
Humidity ( % ) 68 68 69 71 73 74 74 73 72 70 70 69 O 70.9
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
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24.9
17.6
25.2
17.6
24.1
16.8
22.3
15.1
20.3
14.1
19.0
13.5
18.0
13.1
18.1
13.3
18.8
13.8
20.0
14.5
21.7
15.3
23.6
16.5
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
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  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Source: WMO ; wetterkontor.de

history

Sea battle off Iquique on May 21, 1879
Ships in the roadstead off Iquique (before 1901)

Iquique was founded in the 16th century. From 1556 onwards, large silver deposits were exploited in the Huantajaya mine near Iquique. Huantajaya became the second largest silver mine after Potosí for the Spaniards . After the end of the colonial period, Iquique initially belonged to Peru .

In 1835, Charles Darwin traveled to Iquique, describing it as a desolate, rundown village that itself has to bring in water from afar. The first desalination plant was put into operation in 1845.

The once poor fishing village gradually developed into a sizable city and an important seaport. One reason for this was the emerging saltpeter and guano trade (see also saltpeter trade ).

On August 13, 1868, there was a severe earthquake, also on May 9, 1877.

Tower in the market square of Iquique
Iquique Theater House

During the saltpeter war , a naval battle took place in front of the port of Iquique on May 21, 1879 , which is regarded as a preliminary decision in the battle for sea supremacy in the Pacific by the Chilean Navy . To prevent reinforcement of the Peruvian defenders of the port city by sea, the port was blocked by two older Chilean warships. The two Peruvian armored ships Huáscar and Independencia met the Chilean blockade ships , with the Peruvian monitor Huáscar ramming the decrepit Chilean corvette Esmeralda with its battering bow and thus sank. The anniversary of the battle in which the Chilean commander and national hero Arturo Prat was killed is celebrated pompously in Chile.

On November 23, 1879, Iquique was occupied by Chilean troops. After the war, the whole Tarapacá region with Iquique as its capital finally fell to Chile in the Treaty of Ancón in 1883.

In 1880 the Roman Catholic Apostolic Vicariate Tarapacá was established, which in 1929 was elevated to the status of the Diocese of Iquique .

In 1907, thousands of workers at the saltpetre works in Iquique protested against catastrophic working conditions. The army took action against them, shooting up to a thousand protesters, including numerous women and children ( Iquique massacre ).

In 1975 Iquique was granted a free trade area (ZOFRI), which led to the city's economic prosperity. The upswing did not last long, however, as Peru also provided various cities with free trade zones from 1992 onwards.

On April 12, 2004, Alto Hospicio with 50,190 inhabitants (2002 census) was spun off from Iquique and declared an independent municipality.

Iquique was hit by a severe seaquake in the evening hours of April 1, 2014 , the epicenter of which was about 100 kilometers away.

Attractions

The tourism plays an increasing role. The long beaches attract bathers despite the not very warm Pacific. The Cavancha beach in particular is very popular during the bathing season (October to April). There are regular cultural events (e.g. in the Teatro Municipal in Plaza Arturo Prat).

About 50 km east of the town are the Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works , which the World Heritage Site of UNESCO belong.

economy

The once most important saltpetre port in Chile alongside Antofagasta has lost its importance; the city is now an industrial center with fish and oil processing plants. About 40 km south of Iquique is the international airport Diego Aracena ( Spanish Aeropuerto Internacional Diego Aracena ), which serves civil and military purposes .

sons and daughters of the town

Town twinning

See also

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. weather.com: Deadly Earthquake Strikes Near Iquique, Chile; Chilean Tsunami Warnings Continue Though No Immediate US Tsunami Threat ( Memento of the original from April 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , dated April 2, 2014 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.weather.com