Atacama Region
- This article is about the Atacama Region; for the desert, see Atacama Desert.
The Atacama Region Region (Spanish: Región de Atacama) is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. The southern portion of the Atacama Desert is in the region; the rest of the desert is in the other regions to the north (Norte Grande natural region).
|
Región de Atacama | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
 Map of Atacama Region | |
| Coordinates: 27°22′00″S 70°19′56″W / 27.36667°S 70.33222°WCoordinates: 27°22′00″S 70°19′56″W / 27.36667°S 70.33222°W | |
| Country |  Chile |
| Capital | Copiapó |
| Provinces | Chañaral, Copiapó, Huasco |
| Government | |
| • Intendant | Francisco Sánchez (RN) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 75,176.2 km2 (29,025.7 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 4 |
| Highest elevation | 6,891.3 m (22,609.3 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population (2017 census)[1] | |
| • Total | 286,168 |
| • Rank | 13 |
| • Density | 3.806630/km2 (9.859127/sq mi) |
| ISO 3166 code | CL-AT |
| HDI (2019) | 0.855[2] very high |
| Website | Official website (in Spanish) |
The capital of the region is the city of Copiapó; it is at 806 km (501 mi) north of Santiago, the capital of country.
History
From 1843, Atacama was a province of Chile but in 1974, with the creation of the Regions of Chile, it became one of those regions.
Geography
The Atacama region borders the Tarapacá region to the north, Argentina (provinces of Catamarca, La Rioja and San Juan), on the east, the Coquimbo region on the south and the Pacific Ocean on the west.[3]
The highest mountains of the region are: Nevados Ojos del Salado, 6,893 m (22,615 ft) high, and Nevado Tres Cruces, 6,748 m (22,139 ft) high; they are in the Andes, in the border with Argentina.
Population
As of 2015[update], there were (estimated) 312,486 persons living in the region,[4] for a population density of 4.2 inhabitants/km².
The largest city in the region is its capital, Copiapó, with 125,983 inhabitants (2002 census).
Administration
The Atacama region is divided in three provinces: Chañaral, Copiapó and Huasco.
| Provinces | Capital | Code | Comunas | Area (km²)[3] |
Population[3] 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copiapó (031) |
Copiapó | 03101 | 4 Copiapó | 16,681.3 | 129,091 |
| 03102 | 3 Caldera | 4,666.6 | 13,734 | ||
| 03103 | 5 Tierra Amarilla | 11,190.6 | 12,888 | ||
| Total of the Copiapó province | 32,538.5 | 155,713 | |||
| Chañaral (032) |
Chañaral | 03201 | 1 Chañaral | 5,772.4 | 13,543 |
| 03202 | 2 Diego de Almagro | 18,663.8 | 18,589 | ||
| Total of the Chañaral province | 24,436.2 | 32,132 | |||
| Huasco (033) |
Vallenar | 03301 | 9 Vallenar | 7,083.7 | 48,040 |
| 03302 | 6 Alto del Carmen | 5,938.7 | 4,840 | ||
| 03303 | 7 Freirina | 3,577.7 | 5,666 | ||
| 03304 | 8 Huasco | 1,601.4 | 7,945 | ||
| Total of the Huasco province | 18,201.5 | 66,491 | |||
| Total of the region | 75,176.2 | 254,336 | |||
Atacama Region Media
Irrigated fields in the outskirts Copiapó.
Laguna Verde in Atacama region, afternoon, 4300 m.a.s.l.
Flowered desert, at the Atacama desert in Chile
Llamas (Lama glama) in the sunset near San Pedro de Atacama at an altitude of approximately 2,400m (7,900 ft), Chile Norte Grande.
Rainbow Valley, Rio Grande, Chile
Related pages
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Región de Atacama" (in español). Library of National Congress. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
- ↑ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Región de Atacama" (PDF). Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 November 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
- ↑ "Población país y regiones - Actualización 2002-2012 y Proyección 2013-2020" (XLS) (in español). Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas (INE). 4 September 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
Other websites
- Territorial division of Chile (in Spanish)
- Gobierno Regional de Atacama Official website (in Spanish)
| Regions of Chile | 
|
|---|---|
| Arica y Parinacota | Tarapacá | Antofagasta | Atacama | Coquimbo | Valparaíso | O'Higgins | Maule | Ñuble | Bío Bío | La Araucanía | Los Ríos | Los Lagos | Aysén | Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena | RM Santiago | |