Antofagasta

For the copper-mining company named after the region, see Antofagasta plc.
Antofagasta (IPA /antofa'γasta/) is a port city in northern Chile, and is the capital of both Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. It has a population of 318,779 according to the 2002 census. The city's name comes from the Quechua for "Town of the Great Saltpetre Bed", although there is another theory that its name is Kunza (the Atacaman language) for "Copper's Hiding Place". The metal is, after all, plentiful in the region.

Geography

Location

Antofagasta is a long and thin city located just south of the Península de Mejillones and north of the Cerro Coloso. The city is hemmed in by steep hills that are part of Chile's Cordillera de la Costa (Spanish Coast Mountain Range) on its eastern edge, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west.

Antofagasta lies in the Atacama Desert, the world's driest region. Annual rainfall in the city averages less than 4 mm, and there was a period of 40 years when no rain fell at all.

Nearby Cities

Mejillones is a small port 65 km to the north, on the northern part of Península de Mejillones. Twenty-five kilometres further north of Antofagasta lies Hornitos, a beach that attracts tourists and Antofagasta residents. Tocopilla is a coastal city located 188 km north of Antofagasta. Calama, the second-largest city in the Second Region of Chile is located 213 km northeast of the regional capital. La Negra is a medium-sized industrial complex some 10 km to the east of Antofagasta, on the Pan-American Highway.

History

The first native inhabitants were Changos, whose subsistence was based on fishing, gathering shellfish, and hunting sea lions.

The region was also part of the Inca Empire.

Founded between 1866 and 1874, Antofagasta's original name was Peńas Blancas ("White Boulders"), and it was originally part of Bolivia but passed into Chilean hands on 14 February 1879 when it was occupied by Chilean troops, marking the beginning of the War of the Pacific. It had been colonized by Chileans for many years before that. A man named Juan López is traditionally considered to be the city's first inhabitant.

Although Antofagasta is in a very arid zone, its development was and is still based upon extraction of raw materials found in the area, shifting from guano to saltpetre to copper over the years. Antofagasta is now the main copper-exporting port of Chile.

Antofagasta's economic mainstay is based on providing housing and services to the mining companies and operations that surround the city.

Demography

With its population of more than 300,000 people, Antofagasta is the fifth-largest city in Chile. Its inhabitants are principally native-born Chileans, although significant Croatian and Greek colonies are also part of the city's composition.

Ambulant populations form a significant portion of the residents of Antofagasta owing to several mining companies located nearby.

The City

Antofagasta has an airport (Aeropuerto Cerro Moreno) that includes civil and military operations. The city also has two seaports: one is a state port, located near downtown Antofagasta. The other is part of La Escondida copper mine and located to the south of the city, near Cerro Coloso.

Antofagasta's industrial complex is situated to the north of the city. The city also has a small agricultural zone in Quebrada La Chimba.

To the north of the city, La Portada de Antofagasta, a natural monument, is famous for its beauty.

The city has several state and private schools and two major universities.

Since about 1994, Antofagasta has experienced a construction boom of high-rise apartment buildings that continues as of 2004.

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