Atacama region

Atacama Region III Región de Atacama
Symbols
flag coat of arms
Basic data
Country	Chile
Capital	Copiapó
surface	75,176.2 km²
Residents	286,168 (2017 census)
density	3.8 inhabitants per km²
ISO 3166-2	CL-AT
Website	www.goreatacama.cl
politics
Intendant	Miguel Vargas Correa
Chimeneas de Labrar

Coordinates: 27 ° 18 ′  S , 70 ° 17 ′  W

The Región de Atacama forms Region III within Chile (South America). It is located in the Atacama Desert region and is relatively sparsely populated.

geography

The main cities are:

• Copiapó , 129,281 inhabitants (2005)
• Vallenar , 48,000 inhabitants (2003)
• Caldera , 14,000 inhabitants (2003)
• Chañaral , 12,500 inhabitants (2003)

Region III has several national parks and other nature reserves:

• Nevado Tres Cruces National Park in the northeastern region in the Andes -region
• Llanos de Challe National Park north of Vallenar
• Pan de Azúcar National Park on the northern border of the region
• Reserva Nacional Pingüino de Humboldt in the south on the Pacific coast

The region has the highest mountains in Chile, the Ojos del Salado (6893 m), Cerro Tres Cruces (6753 m) and the Incahuasi (6621 m). The highest point in Chile is the extinct volcano Ojos del Salado . It is located in the Nevado Tres Cruces National Park.

history

Despite its lack of water, the Atacama was settled early on. The Atacameños , Aymara , Chinchorros and Diaguitas peoples lived around the sparse oases .

Then the area became part of the Inca Empire . In 1536, conquistador Diego de Almagro was the first to reach the area around Copiapó . After the fall of the Inca rule, the desert came under Spanish rule. The independence efforts of the South American states let the Atacama fall to Bolivia.

In 1832 a large silver deposit was discovered in Chañarcillo (50 km south of Copiapó ) , which made Chile one of the largest silver producers in the world for decades. In 1916 the exploitation of the copper deposits at Potrerillos began .

After the saltpeter war (1879-1884), which was waged over the rich nitrate deposits in the desert and which Chile won against Peru and Bolivia with British encouragement and help, Chile was able to expand its territory considerably to the north at the expense of Peru and Bolivia. The loss of access to the Pacific Ocean is still a major diplomatic point of conflict between Chile and Bolivia. Until the Saltpeter War, today's Región de Atacama was the northernmost province of Chile.

Provinces

province	Capital	Municipalities
Chañaral	Chañaral	1 Chañaral
		2 Diego de Almagro
Copiapó	Copiapó	3 caldera
		4 Copiapó
		5 Tierra Amarilla
Huasco	Vallenar	6 Alto del Carmen
		7 Freirina
		8 Huasco
		9 Vallenar

Infrastructure

The region is opened up for air traffic through the Aeropuerto Desierto de Atacama near Caldera.

Web links

Commons : Región de Atacama  - collection of images, videos and audio files