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Antofagasta () is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 402,669.
Once claimed by Bolivia following the Spanish American wars of independence, Antofagasta was captured by Chile on 14 February 1879, triggering the War of the Pacific (1879–83). Chilean sovereignty was officially recognised by Bolivia under the terms of the 1904 Treaty of Peace and Friendship.
The city of Antofagasta is closely linked to mining activity, being a port and the chief service hub for one of Chile's major mining areas. While silver mining and saltpeter mining have been historically important for Antofagasta, since the mid-19th century copper mining is by far the most important mining activity for Antofagasta, fueling a steady growth in the areas of construction, retail, hotel accommodations, population growth and skyline development until the end of the 2000s commodities boom in 2013. Since the 2010s Antofagasta is also a service hub for lithium mining.
Antofagasta is the seat of one of Chile's three environmental courts and is also a university city being the home of the Catholic University of the North and the University of Antofagasta.
In 2012, Antofagasta has the highest GDP per capita of Chile, US$37,000 and the 3rd place for Human Development Index just after Metropolitana de Santiago Region and Magallanes and Antártica Chilena Region.
The territory was disputed between Chile and Bolivia until the signing of the Boundary Treaty of 1866.
On 18 September 1866, José Santos Ossa and Francisco Puelma achieved the award of the concession of nitrate lands, following a request taken to the Bolivian government. The exploring of the Chilean miners found rich deposits of Chile saltpeter (nitratine) in the field of Salar del Carmen, to the east of the present Antofagasta. Agreed to form the " Sociedad Exploradora del Desierto de Atacama" (Explorer Society of Atacama Desert). After the formation of the company, began to fill with what was called " La Chimba".
On 8 May 1872, Antofagasta was designated by the Bolivia as Puerto Mayor, opening trade worldwide.
On 27 November 1873, the "Compañía de Salitres y Ferrocarril de Antofagasta" (CSFA), a Chilean mining company, signed a contract with the government of Bolivia, in which taxes were removed from mineral exploitation for 15 years. This contract was not ratified by the Congress of Bolivia, which was then analyzed negotiations with Chile.
For Bolivia, the contract of 1873 between the government and CSFA was not yet in force, because, according to the Bolivian constitution, all contracts with the Bolivian government had to be approved by the congress.
According to the Bolivian version of events, the contract with the saltpeter company was incomplete so the congress, to approve the contract, decided to enforce a tax of 10 cents, which did not violate the treaty of 1874, since the contract was not yet in force at that date. Bolivia suspended the tax in deference to the government of Chile, but following a note from the Chilean foreign minister, it reactivated the tax law, then cancelled and closed the "Compañía de Salitres". Faced with a looming conflict with Chile, Bolivia decided to claim support under the agreement signed with Peru, and the treaty became effective with the Chilean occupation of Antofagasta, on 14 February 1879.
According to the Chilean version of events, the tax of 10 cents violated the treaty of 1874 since according to this, new taxes should not have been imposed on Chilean companies operating in Bolivia. At the breaking of the boundary treaty by Bolivia, and the cancellation of the contract of the CSFA, Chile seized Antofagasta, then in Bolivian territory, whose sovereignty had been ratified before 1866. After the war, a pact of truce was signed between Bolivia and Chile in 1884, which stated that the territory between the Loa River and parallel 23 would be under the administration of Chile, while Bolivia would be allowed access to the ports of Arica and Antofagasta.
In 1912, the British community ( La Colonia Britanica) erected a clock tower, replicating Big Ben, in Plaza Colón to celebrate the republic's centenary.
In 1956, the Universidad del Norte (now the Catholic University of the North) was founded, due to support from the Catholic University of Valparaíso. On 9 October, of the same year began the negotiations for the creation of the "Centro Universitario Zona Norte" (University Center North Zone), part of the University of Chile.
On 18 June 1991, a mudslide devastated much of the city, undermining land, damaged 2,464 houses and destroyed 493 buildings. Material damage was estimated at $70,000,000. The disaster left 92 dead, 16 missing and about 20,000 homeless. On 30 July 1995, the city was hit by an earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter Scale, with an intensity VII to VIII on the Mercalli Scale.
In the municipal elections of 2008, the first female mayor of the city, Dra. Marcela Hernando, was elected, who retired from her political party to run as an independent. This allowed her to have diverse support from all sectors of the population of Antofagasta.
The urban area of Antofagasta begins abruptly, breaking the monotony of the Atacama Desert and is located in the coastal plains, south of Mejillones Peninsula and north of " Cerro Coloso". The Tropic of Capricorn passes in the north of the city, outside the urban area, which is located the Cerro Moreno International Airport. The Tropic of Capricorn Monument was opened on 21 December 2000 in celebration of this. Designed by the architect Eleonora Roman, it was created to point the Tropic of Capricorn and to work as a Solar Calendar.
Antofagasta was declared a partial common in the border area 20 July 1999, by Supreme Decree No. 1166 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The city has little vegetation because it is situated in the Atacama Desert, which is the world's driest nonpolar desert. However, among the vegetated areas are a series of . Native reptiles, , birds like the Calidris and mammals like the Culpeo, inhabit or visit the wetlands. Some of these wetlands are threatened by garbage, street dogs, extraction of water, establishments of () and the diversion of water courses. As of January 2024 the municipality of Antofagasta plans to declare the wetlands official urban wetlands in accordance with the Urban Wetlands Law.
The marked aridity and water scarcity are regulated by the Humboldt Current, in addition to the high humidity and morning fog known as "Camanchaca".
Furthermore, the Pacific anticyclone generates winds from the south and southwest.
The average annual temperature is . The average daily low temperature in the warmest month, January, is while the average daily high temperature is . The coldest month, July, sees an average low temperature of and an average high temperature of . The highest temperature recorded is in January 1998 and the lowest recorded is in September 1978.
The Atacama Desert coast is subject to a climate of extreme aridity, and therefore generates a low average annual rainfall of (1970–2000), and the Town of Antofagasta itself receives an annual average of less than of rainfall per year, earning it the record as the world's driest town. However, the sporadic occurrence of heavy rainfall, together with the geomorphologic situation of the city, make it susceptible to be affected by mud flows and landslides. Between 1916 and 1999, the city was affected by floods or landslides on seven occasions: 1925, 1930, twice in 1940, 1982, 1987 and 1991, of which the most important episodes in 1940 and 1991.
The coastal edge of Antofagasta is rocky and steep, so there are no natural beaches, the majority being artificial. Just north of the city, natural beaches extend to the areas of "La Portada", "Las Losetas" and "La Rinconada".
Within the water resources of the commune, there are different dry lakes (salar), among which include the Salar de Pajonales, Salar Mar Muerto, Salar Punta Negra and the Salar de Navidad.
Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Antofagasta is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Marcela Hernando (PRSD) and Paulina Nuñez (RN) as part of the 4th electoral district, together with Mejillones, Sierra Gorda and Taltal. The commune is represented in the Senate by Pedro Araya (Progressive Convergence, 2014–2022) and Alejandro Guillier (Progressive Convergence, 2014–2022) as part of the 2nd senatorial constituency (Antofagasta Region).
The township has three local police courts. In addition, the Municipality of Antofagasta has a number of municipal headquarters, which are entities created to meet and control certain community needs a more specific way.
There are refinery furnaces for the copper industry. Cement and lime are mined to aid copper refining. The area also has iron ore deposits, for steel.
The second industrial area is located in the north of the city, where they have installed multiple operating centers of different companies, mainly along the "Pedro Aguirre Cerda Avenue."
Since the 2010s, Antofagasta is a hub for lithium mining. Chile has the largest reserves of lithium worldwide and was the second largest producer in 2024, after Australia, and it is shipped from Antofagasta.
Trade is concentrated mainly in the center of Antofagasta, around the Plaza Colón, where within the last 2 decades several national retail chains were in place. Moreover, in different parts of the city large supermarket chains like "Líder", "Tottus", "Unimarc", "Santa Isabel" and "Jumbo" are set up.
In 2006, the national chain "Mall Plaza" was built in the coastal area and the "Casino Enjoy Antofagasta" was built in the south of the city.
Events are held annually with the assistance of several mining countries of the world, and one of the most important is Exponor organized by the Asociación de Industriales Antofagasta, guild formed by the major copper producers in the region. Exponor is a show that promotes the gestation of chains, new business and exchanging knowledge and experiences among entrepreneurs from different countries of the world. This important trade fair generated a portfolio of U.S. $41,291 million (63.48% world total), for the period 2007–2015.
Although the State school are distributed almost uniformly throughout the city, the private schools operate mainly in the central and southern part of the city, where the wealthiest inhabitants reside. Only three private schools in the city are ranked among the top 100 schools in the country with the highest scores in the University Selection Test, which are The Antofagasta British School, "Hrvatska Skola San Esteban" and "Antofagasta International School".
Antofagasta is the first city in Chile which has a municipal school operating within a military compound: " Recovery Center for Integrative Studies in Military Training", located within the Reinforced Regiment No. 20 "La Concepción".
In baseball, different teams are formed and maintained in competition since the last century, and the selection of the city dispute the national classic game with the selection of Tocopilla (historically the best team of baseball in Chile).
Vehicular traffic is concentrated around the main avenues of the city due to the long and narrow shape of the urban area. The only avenue that crosses the city from north to south, corresponds to the coastal route known as Avenida Costanera, which is formed by the avenues Jaime Guzmán, Ejército, República de Croacia, Grecia, José Manuel Balmaceda, Aníbal Pinto, 7º de Línea and Edmundo Pérez Zujovic; these avenues provide access to places including Mall Plaza Antofagasta, the Campus Coloso of the University of Antofagasta, the city hall of the Municipality of Antofagasta.
Escondida, the biggest private mining company in Chile, has a private port located in southern city, near Cerro Coloso.
The lower transport consists of taxicab lines, corresponding to a black sedans that make their way through the urban area through fixed routes.
Unlike other contemporary mining railways, FCAB survived the crash of the natural nitrate sector. It provides a variety of transportation services - most notably, the transport of mining products and consumables such as and sulfuric acid - via a long rail network that is connected to the Ferrocarril Andino de Bolivia, Ferronor (Chile), and Ferrocarril Belgrano in Argentina (Salta–Antofagasta railway). Its gauge is .
Climate
The town of Antofagasta has a Desert climate (Köppen BWk) with abundant sunshine and strong maritime influence.
Hydrology
There are about fifteen streams that have Drainage basin with accumulation of sand and gravel. Within the broader watershed ( hoya) are the "Hoya La Chimba", "Hoya Caracoles", "Hoya La Cadena", "Hoya La Negra" and "Hoya El Way". These watersheds and their streams ( Quebrada), such as "Quebrada sin nombre", "Quebrada Baquedano", "Quebrada El Toro", "Quebrada El Carrizo" and "Quebrada Jardines del Sur", which helped cause the flood of 1991.
Governance
As a commune, Antofagasta is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. As of 2021, the mayor is Jonathan Velásquez. The communal council has the following members:
Economy
Antofagasta's economic development is mainly based on copper mining and nonmetallic minerals such as nitrate and iodine.
Business tourism
Because of the important administrative position of Antofagasta in the region, the historical relationship with the mining sector, and the production of the 54% of copper at the national level, business events are held in Antofagasta.
Cost of living
In 2024, Antofagasta is the fifth most expensive city in Chile as to cost of living. Santiago, Punta Arenas, Puerto Varas and San Antonio have a higher cost of living.
Demographics
According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Antofagasta had 296,905 inhabitants spread over an area of , of which 143,685 are women and 153,220 were men. In the commune, 295,792 (99.6%) lived in urban areas and 1,113 (0.4%) in rural areas. The population grew by 30.0% (68,497 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses. A 2009 population projection by the National Institute of Statistics of Chile estimated the city has an estimated population of 360,473 inhabitants.
Education
The city has several public and private educational universities. Two major traditional universities, one that is public, University of Antofagasta, and other private, Catholic University of the North. Several private autonomous universities have been open since 2002. Previously, the now-defunct "University José Santos Ossa" was the only private autonomous university in Antofagasta.
Sport
Football
The football club Deportes Antofagasta is part of the Chilean First Division A (although it played two periods in the First División of Professional Football), and plays its home matches at Antofagasta Regional Stadium. Other football clubs of the city are the Club Deportivo Ormazábal and Club Deportivo Unión Bellavista which play in the Third Division A of Chile.
Other sports
Antofagasta was one of the host cities of the official 1959 Basketball World Cup, where Chile won the bronze medal.
Transportation
Roads
The main land route connectivity in the province is Route 5-CH, which connects the city with the rest of the country and is part of the Panamerican Highway. This route connects to the city by Route CH-26 in the north of the city, and Route CH-28 to the south. In addition, the city is connected to the north of the country by Route 1-CH, a way that also allows access to Andrés Sabella Gálvez International Airport and the natural monument La Portada.
Airport
Andrés Sabella Gálvez International Airport is the only airport in Antofagasta and is located in Cerro Moreno, north of the city. This site, despite being classified as International Airport, operates mostly as a terminal for national flights, with one international airline, LATAM Peru, flying to Lima. In this terminal three domestic airlines also operate, LATAM Airlines, JetSmart and Sky Airlines.
Port
The city has a port complex of seven docks, inaugurated by President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo on 14 February 1943 under the name of Puerto de Antofagasta, which consists of two terminals. Terminal 1, consists of the docks 1, 2 and 3, is multi-operator and is managed by the " Empresa Portuaria Antofagasta" (EPA) since 1 July 1998. Terminal No. 2, composed of docks 4, 5, 6 and 7, monooperario type, which is managed and operated by the company " Antofagasta Terminal Internacional" (ATI) since 1 March 2003. Overall, this tourist (member of the Association of Cruise Ports Southern Cone) and commercial port, can operate the production of 5,000,000 tons of cargo.
Public transport
The higher transportation consists of thirteen lines of , which correspond to buses with a capacity of fewer than thirty people. The public transport is within a tender and is known as TransAntofagasta. The public transport plan took effect officially on 28 November 2005, replacing the old bus service. The route of these buses finish in the Caleta Coloso (south end of the city) during the year, and during the summer come as far as Balneario Juan Lopez, which is out of town.
Railways
The most important railroad is the Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia (FCAB) founded in 1888, during the economic boom of the saltpeter industry. In 1930, FCAB was acquired by Antofagasta PLC, which is part of the Quiñenco commercial group.
Future commuter rail
Due to the accelerated urban and demographic growth of Antofagasta during 2000–2010, a commuter train using the current FCAB line is currently under review. The project aims to decongest vehicle traffic by linking the north and south of the city with a direct train line.
Twin towns – sister cities
Antofagasta is Sister city with:
See also
External links
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