Calama is a city and commune in the
Atacama DesertThe Atacama Desert is a virtually rainless plateau in South America, covering a strip of land on the Pacific coast of South America, west of the Andes mountains. The Atacama desert is, according to NASA, National Geographic and many other publications, the driest desert in the world...
in northern
ChileChile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. It is the capital of
El Loa ProvinceEl Loa Province is one of the provinces of the Antofagasta Region, Chile....
, part of the
Antofagasta RegionThe II Antofagasta Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. It comprises three provinces, Antofagasta, El Loa and Tocopilla, It is bordered to the north by Tarapacá and by Atacama to the south and is the second largest region of Chile.The capital of the region is the port...
. Calama is one of the driest cities in the world with average annual precipitation of just 5 mm (0.2 inches). The River Loa, Chile's longest, flows through the city. Calama has a population of 143,000 (2005
censusA "census" is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population.In other words every 10 years...next one would be in 2010 The term is used mostly in connection with...
).
The commune also encompasses the
QuechuasQuechuas is the the collective term for several ethnic groups in South America who speak a Quechua language , belonging to several ethnic groups in South America, above all in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina....
communities of Estación San Pedro,
ToconceToconce is a small Chilean village located on the south rim of the Toconce River Canyon at 3,350 m above sea level. To the north, the landscape is dominated by the volcanoes Paniri, Cerro del León and Toconce....
and Cupo; and the Lickan-antay communities of Taira, Conchi Viejo,
LasanaLasana is a small village located 40 km northeast of the city of Calama, in the Antofagasta Region of northern Chile. It sits along the banks of the Loa River....
,
San Francisco de Chiu ChiuSan Francisco de Chiu Chiu, or simply Chiu Chiu, is a village located about 30 km northeast of the city of Calama, in the Antofagasta Region of northern Chile...
,
Aiquina-TuriAyquina is a Chilean village located on the northern flank of Salado River Canyon. It sits at an elevation of 2,980 m above sea level.The festival of Our Lady of Guadalupe of Ayquina is the most important religious festival in the area.Paniri volcano plays an important role in the local culture...
, and
CaspanaCaspana is a Chilean village located 85 km northeast of the city of Calama, in the gorge carved by the river that shared its name and that is a tributary of the Salado River. Agricultural terraces form part of the landscape of the area.-References:...
.
At an elevation of 2,400 metres (7,900 ft), Calama is the gateway to the geological and archaeological wonders of Chile’s high central desert.
Calama is a city and commune in the
Atacama DesertThe Atacama Desert is a virtually rainless plateau in South America, covering a strip of land on the Pacific coast of South America, west of the Andes mountains. The Atacama desert is, according to NASA, National Geographic and many other publications, the driest desert in the world...
in northern
ChileChile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. It is the capital of
El Loa ProvinceEl Loa Province is one of the provinces of the Antofagasta Region, Chile....
, part of the
Antofagasta RegionThe II Antofagasta Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. It comprises three provinces, Antofagasta, El Loa and Tocopilla, It is bordered to the north by Tarapacá and by Atacama to the south and is the second largest region of Chile.The capital of the region is the port...
. Calama is one of the driest cities in the world with average annual precipitation of just 5 mm (0.2 inches). The River Loa, Chile's longest, flows through the city. Calama has a population of 143,000 (2005
censusA "census" is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population.In other words every 10 years...next one would be in 2010 The term is used mostly in connection with...
).
The commune also encompasses the
QuechuasQuechuas is the the collective term for several ethnic groups in South America who speak a Quechua language , belonging to several ethnic groups in South America, above all in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina....
communities of Estación San Pedro,
ToconceToconce is a small Chilean village located on the south rim of the Toconce River Canyon at 3,350 m above sea level. To the north, the landscape is dominated by the volcanoes Paniri, Cerro del León and Toconce....
and Cupo; and the Lickan-antay communities of Taira, Conchi Viejo,
LasanaLasana is a small village located 40 km northeast of the city of Calama, in the Antofagasta Region of northern Chile. It sits along the banks of the Loa River....
,
San Francisco de Chiu ChiuSan Francisco de Chiu Chiu, or simply Chiu Chiu, is a village located about 30 km northeast of the city of Calama, in the Antofagasta Region of northern Chile...
,
Aiquina-TuriAyquina is a Chilean village located on the northern flank of Salado River Canyon. It sits at an elevation of 2,980 m above sea level.The festival of Our Lady of Guadalupe of Ayquina is the most important religious festival in the area.Paniri volcano plays an important role in the local culture...
, and
CaspanaCaspana is a Chilean village located 85 km northeast of the city of Calama, in the gorge carved by the river that shared its name and that is a tributary of the Salado River. Agricultural terraces form part of the landscape of the area.-References:...
.
At an elevation of 2,400 metres (7,900 ft), Calama is the gateway to the geological and archaeological wonders of Chile’s high central desert. Some of these places of interest include: the town of
ChuquicamataChuquicamata, or "Chuqui" as it is more familiarly known, is a large open pit copper mine in the north of Chile, 215 km northeast of Antofagasta and 1,240 km north of the capital, Santiago.- Overview :...
, the village of
San Pedro de AtacamaSan Pedro de Atacama is a Chilean town and commune in El Loa Province, Antofagasta Region. It is located east of Antofagasta, some 100 km southeast of Calama and the Chuquicamata copper mine, overlooking the Licancabur volcano. It features a significant archeological museum, the R. P...
,
Valle de la LunaValley of the Moon Is located 13 kilometers west of San Pedro in the Cordillera de la Sal, in the Atacama desert of Chile. It’s an interesting place with stone and sand formations which have been created through the centuries by floods and wind, which has also given it an extraordinary color and...
(Valley of the Moon), the
LicancaburLicancabur is a highly symmetrical stratovolcano on the southernmost part of the border between Chile and Bolivia. It is located just southwest of Laguna Verde in Bolivia and northwest of Juriques volcano. The volcano dominates the landscape of the Salar de Atacama area...
volcano,
R. P. Gustavo Le Paige Archaeological MuseumR. P. Gustavo Le Paige Archaeological Museum is a museum located in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. It houses a collection of about 380,000 pre-Columbian artifacts from the Atacameño culture. The museum is named after Jesuit missionary Father Gustavo Le Paige, who was its founder.At present, the...
,
Los Flamencos National ReserveLos Flamencos National Reserve is a nature reserve located in the commune of San Pedro de Atacama, Antofagasta Region of Chile. The reserve covers a total area of 740 km² and consists of seven separate sectors.-Salar de Tara-Salar de Aguas Calientes:...
, the Aguas Calientes salt flat, the Tuyajto lagoon, the
El Tatio Geysersthumb|A geyser bubbling at El Tatio geyser fieldEl Tatio is a geyser field located within the Andes Mountains of northern Chile at 4,200 meters above mean sea level. Contrary to some reports, it is not the highest-elevation geyser field in the world. Puchuldiza Geyser Field, Chile, and possibly...
, the village of Chiu-Chiu.
In 2003 the nearby town of
ChuquicamataChuquicamata, or "Chuqui" as it is more familiarly known, is a large open pit copper mine in the north of Chile, 215 km northeast of Antofagasta and 1,240 km north of the capital, Santiago.- Overview :...
, by one of the largest open-pit copper mines in the world, was dismantled, partly because of environmental reasons, and partly due to encroachment from the mine's expansion. Residents of
ChuquicamataChuquicamata, or "Chuqui" as it is more familiarly known, is a large open pit copper mine in the north of Chile, 215 km northeast of Antofagasta and 1,240 km north of the capital, Santiago.- Overview :...
then moved to Calama, away from company-owned residences, to find housing on their own.
Name's Origin
There are a variety of hypothesis with respect to the origin of the name "Calama," but the two main accounts maintain that its origin comes from the language
KunzaKunza, also known as Likanantaí, Lipe, Ulipe, or Atacameño, is an extinct, unclassified language spoken in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile and southern Perú by the Lickan-antay people, who have since shifted to Spanish.The last Kunza speaker was found in 1949, although some have been found...
, spoken in the past by the Lickan-antay, an ethnic group that to this day resides in the
El Loa ProvinceEl Loa Province is one of the provinces of the Antofagasta Region, Chile....
.
Hector Pumarino Soto suggests that "Calama" stems from the
KunzaKunza, also known as Likanantaí, Lipe, Ulipe, or Atacameño, is an extinct, unclassified language spoken in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile and southern Perú by the Lickan-antay people, who have since shifted to Spanish.The last Kunza speaker was found in 1949, although some have been found...
word "Ckara-ama," which means "town in the middle of the water". This affirmation is supported by the fact that, until the middle of the 20th century, the urban site of Calama and the surrounding oasis were flanked by the River Loa (in its south and east borders) and the fertile plain and swamps of the western sector, creating a true island in the middle of the desert surrounded completely by water.
Emilio Vaïsse, meanwhile, says that Calama comes from the
KunzaKunza, also known as Likanantaí, Lipe, Ulipe, or Atacameño, is an extinct, unclassified language spoken in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile and southern Perú by the Lickan-antay people, who have since shifted to Spanish.The last Kunza speaker was found in 1949, although some have been found...
word "Ckolama," which means "place where
partridgePartridges are birds in the pheasant family, Phasianidae. They are a non-migratory Old World group.These are medium-sized birds, intermediate between the larger pheasants and the smaller quails. Partridges are native to Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East...
s abound". This is supposed testimony to the abundance of such a bird, living over everything in the middle of the western swamp sector.
Prehispanic Era
The exact evidence related to the history of Calama does exist, including
petroglyphPetroglyphs are images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, pecking, carving, and abrading. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions of the technique to refer to such images...
s and the caves of Yalquincha (NE of the city), the chullpas of Topáter (pre-Columbian cemeteries to the east of the city), the Copper Mummy, and other remains in
ChuquicamataChuquicamata, or "Chuqui" as it is more familiarly known, is a large open pit copper mine in the north of Chile, 215 km northeast of Antofagasta and 1,240 km north of the capital, Santiago.- Overview :...
.
At the intersection of the
Camino del IncaThe Inca road system was the most extensive and highly advanced transportation system in pre-Columbian South America. The network was based on two north-south roads, with numerous branches.-Main Routes:...
(the longitudinal one) and the routes that crossed the coast of the Altiplano, Calama became the main shelter of the Despoblado of Atacama. Their extensive lands for growing
cornMaize , is a herbaceous plant domesticated in Mesoamerica and subsequently spread throughout the American continents...
and
alfalfaAlfalfa is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae cultivated as an important forage crop. In the UK, Australia, and New Zealand it is known as lucerne and as lucerne grass in south Asia...
give testimony of the high capacity to supply food to the troops of Chasquis and to give tribute to the
IncaThe Inca civilization began as a tribe in the Cuzco area, where the legendary first Sapa Inca, Manco Capac founded the Kingdom of Cuzco around 1200. Under the leadership of the descendants of Manco Capac, the Inca state grew to absorb other Andean communities. In 1442, the Incas began a...
. In fact, when
Diego de AlmagroDiego de Almagro , also known as El Adelantado and El Viejo , was a Spanish conquistador and a companion and later rival of Francisco Pizarro...
, returning from
Cusco||}Cusco or Cuzco is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region as well as the Cusco Province. The city has a population of 348,935 which is triple the figure of 20 years ago...
, passed by the Calama shelter, the natives gave him copper horseshoes, which were made using a mysterious Incan technique used by towns conquered by the Incas. The science of such a technique still has yet to be explained, but the presence of such horseshoes further suggests strong Incan influence in Prehispanic times.
Colonial Era
Spanish colonization obviously caused some changes; however, the hostile climate impeded establishment of greater control. These changes influenced the control of trade routes that crossed the desert and communication to the port of Cobija with the deposits of Potosí
silverSilver is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
and the cattle farms of Salta and Tucumán. In this sense, Calama continued as a main point of provision for commercial routes. In the 18th century, with the
Bourbon ReformsThe Bourbon Reforms were a set of economic and political legislation introduced by the Spanish Crown under various kings of the House of Bourbon throughout the 18th century. The reforms were intended to stimulate manufacturing and technology in order to modernize Spain...
, Calama depended directly of the Intendencia de Potosí.
Bolivian Republic Era
After
BoliviaBolivia, officially Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina to the south, and Chile and Peru to the west....
's Declaration of Independence (6 August 1825), and with gradual changes in the administration of the territory, Calama remained constituted under the Departamento de Litoral (1829), subdivided in the Provincia de Lamar y la Provincia de Atacama (Cobija being the departmental capital). Calama was an important town in the Provincia de Atacama, through which traveled the weekly mail between Cobija and Salta-Potosí, since 1832. In 1840, the provincial capital transferred from Chiuchiu to Calama, increasing the communication boom.
The border conflicts between
ChileChile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and
BoliviaBolivia, officially Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina to the south, and Chile and Peru to the west....
did not reach either Calama or the Province of Atacama. The greater dispute concentrated in the central prairie and in the coast, where they began to discover rich
silverSilver is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
deposits,
saltpeterSaltpeter or saltpetre may refer to:*Potassium nitrate, the critical oxidizing component of gun powder and food preservative*Sodium nitrate , a component of fertilizers, explosives and solid rocket propellants and food preservative*The Saltpeter War or War of the Pacific between Chile, Peru and...
, and
guanoGuano is the excrement of seabirds, bats, and seals. Guano manure is an effective fertilizer and gunpowder ingredient due to its high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and also its lack of odor. Superphosphate made from guano is used for aerial topdressing...
. The ambiguity that led to the frontier conflicts was the possession of the central plain and the Atacama coast. The environment was made tense when Chilean troops, under the command of
colonelColonel is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every country in the world. It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Emilio Sotomayor Baeza, disembarked and peacefully took the port of
AntofagastaAntofagasta is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of both Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2002 census, the city has an urban population of 281,155 and a municipal population of 296,905...
on the morning of February 14, 1879. Later, Bolivia declared war on Chile on March 1.
Chilean Republic Era
Since that day, the changes in the administration have been very deep. It being part of the administrative center of 2° order in
BoliviaBolivia, officially Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina to the south, and Chile and Peru to the west....
, returned as one of 4° order under the Chilean administration (subdelegation). Recently in 1888, under the
governmentA government is the body within a community, political entity or organization which has the authority to make and enforce rules, laws and regulations.....
of
José Manuel BalmacedaJosé Manuel Emiliano Balmaceda Fernández was a Chilean political figure and President. Balmaceda was part of the Castilian-Basque aristocracy in Chile.-Early life:...
, Calama returned as an administrative center of 3° order, inaugurated as the municipality on the 13th of October. Prior to that, in 1886, Calama was chosen for a railway station of the
Antofagasta-Bolivia RailwayThe Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia is a non-government railway operating in the northern provinces of Chile...
, which further expedited shipments through Calama.
Geography
Calama contains two distinct entities: the
desertA desert is a landscape or region that receives almost no precipitation. Deserts are defined as areas with an average annual precipitation of less than per year, or as areas where more water is lost by evapotranspiration than falls as precipitation. In the Köppen climate classification system,...
and the
AndesThe Andes are the world's longest exposed mountain range. They lie as a continuous chain of highland along the western coast of South America...
Mountain Range. Between and , the
coldCold describes the condition of low temperature.Cold may also refer to:*Common cold, a type of Upper respiratory tract infection*Cantonese food classification*Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease...
desert climateUnder the Koppen climate classification, a Desert climate , also known as an arid climate, is a climate where temperatures are moderate and rainfall is too low to sustain any vegetation at all, or at best a very scanty scrub. Areas featuring this climate are usually deserts...
is characterized by annual
precipitationIn meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that is deposited on the Earth's surface. The main forms of precipitation include rain, snow, ice pellets, and graupel...
that does not surpass . The
averageIn mathematics, an average, central tendency of a data set is a measure of the "middle" or "expected" value of the data set. There are many different descriptive statistics that can be chosen as a measurement of the central tendency of the data items. These include arithmetic mean, the median and...
temperatureIn physics, temperature is a physical property of a system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold; something that feels hotter generally has the higher temperature. Temperature is one of the principal parameters of thermodynamics...
is throughout the
yearA year is the amount of time it takes the Earth to make one revolution around the Sun...
(with drastic changes between daily highs of over and daily lows below zero in winter and maximums of over in summer.