Everything about Antofagasta totally explained
» For the copper-mining company named after the region, see Antofagasta plc.
(/antofa'γasta/) is a
port city and
episcopal see in northern
Chile, about north of
Santiago. It is the capital of both
Antofagasta Province and
Antofagasta Region. According to the 2002 census, it has a municipal population of 296,905 and an
urban area population of 318,779. The city's name comes from either a
Quechua or
Aymara word for "town of the great
saltpeter bed."
Geography
Antofagasta is a long and narrow city located south of the
Mejillones Peninsula and north of the Cerro Coloso, north of
Santiago. The city is bordered on the east by steep hills that are part of Chile's
Cordillera de la Costa, and on the west by the
Pacific Ocean.
Antofagasta lies in the
Atacama Desert, which is among the
Earth's driest regions. According to
The Chilean Geological Magazine, annual rainfall in the city averages less than 4 mm, and there was a period of 40 years when no rain fell.
(External Link
)
Mejillones is a small port 65 km to the north, on the northern part of Península de Mejillones. About 90 km north of Antofagasta is
Hornitos, a beach that attracts both tourists and locals.
Tocopilla is a coastal city 188 km north of Antofagasta.
Calama, the second-largest city in the Antofagasta Region, is 213 km northeast of the regional capital.
La Negra is a medium-sized industrial complex approximately 10 km south-east of Antofagasta, on the
Pan-American Highway.
History
The first native inhabitants were the
Changos, who fished, gathered shellfish, and hunted
sea lions. The region was also part of the
Incan Empire.
Founded between 1866 and 1874 as a seaport for the recently discovered
silver mines nearby, Antofagasta's original name was
Peñas Blancas (
Spanish for "White Boulders"). It was part of the
Litoral Province of
Bolivia until
February 14,
1879, when it was occupied by Chilean troops. This event marked the beginning of the
War of the Pacific. Antofagasta is sometimes referred to as the
Captive Province in Bolivia. The Bolivian government has made efforts to regain control of the city.
Administration
The
commune of Antofagasta belongs to 2ª
circunscripción (
II Region of Antofagasta), which is represented in
Senado by the senators
Carlos Cantero (
RN Renovation) and
José Antonio Gómez (
PRSD). Of equal way, the commune is part of
distrito number 4, which is represented in
Cámara de Diputados of
Congreso Nacional by the deputies
Manuel Rojas (
UDI) and
Pedro Araya (
PDC)
Economy
Antofagasta's economic development has been based on extraction of raw materials. Primary extraction has shifted from
guano to
potassium nitrate (saltpeter) to
copper. Antofagasta was formerly known as the main copper port of Chile, however, in recent years Mejillones have taken the leadership in copper transportation mainly due major infrastructure investment in that area (including a new port called "Megapuerto de Mejillones"). The city's economic mainstay is based on providing housing and services to the mining operations surrounding the city.
Antofagasta's industrial complex is north of the city. The city has a small agricultural zone in Quebrada La Chimba.
Image:Hotel Antofagasta.jpg|Hotel Antofagasta
Image:CostaAntofagasta.jpg|Coastal edge of Antofagasta
Image:PuertoAntofagasta.png|South zone of the Port of Antofagasta
Image:Cerro moreno airport scfa 1280 low.jpg|Airport of Antofagasta "Cerro Moreno"
Image:EstadioRegionalAntofagasta.png|Stadium regional Antofagasta
Image:Mall Plaza Antofagasta1.jpg|Mall Plaza Antofagasta
Demographics
According to the 2002 census, Antofagasta has a municipal population 296,905, and a greater
conurbation contaning 318,779
, making it the fourth-largest city in Chile. Its inhabitants are primarilly Chilean, with significant
Croatian and
Greek minorities. Because there are several large mines near Antofagasta, temporary
migrant workers in the mines form a significant portion of residents.
Transportation
Antofagasta has an
airport, Aeropuerto Cerro Moreno, with civilian and military operations. The city also has two seaports: one is a government-owned port near downtown Antofagasta; the other is part of La Escondida copper mine and is located south of the city, near Cerro Coloso.
North of the city, along the seacoast, is a natural monument that features a large rock with a wave-created opening, called La Portada de Antofagasta ("The Doorway to Antofagasta").
Education
The city has several public and private educational facilities. Two major public universities (
Universidad Católica del Norte and
Universidad de Antofagasta) operate in the city. Several private universities (Universidad del Mar, Universidad Mayor, and others) have been open since 2002. Previously, the now-defunct Universidad José Santos Ossa was the only private university in Antofagasta.
Although the public schools are distributed almost uniformly throughout the city, private schools operate mainly in the central and southern part of the city, where the wealthiest inhabitants reside.
Gallery
Image:PuertoAntofagasta.png|Antofagasta is bordered by the Pacific Ocean on the west and steep hills to the east
Image:TorrePlazaColón-Catedral.jpg|Plaza and cathedral
Image:ParroquiaSanJoséCatedralAntofagasta.jpg|San Jose cathedral
Image:MonumentoNaturalLaPortada(3).jpg|La Portada de Antofagasta
Image:Parque Japonés (Antofagasta).jpg|Japanese Park
Further Information
Get more info on 'Antofagasta'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://antofagasta.totallyexplained.com">Antofagasta Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
