Antofagasta Province ( es, Provincia de Antofagasta) is one of three

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

in the northern

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

Antofagasta 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. After the Spanish American wars ...

(II). The capital is the port city of

. Located within the

Atacama Desert The Atacama Desert ( es, Desierto de Atacama) is a desert plateau in South America covering a 1,600 km (990 mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes Mountains. The Atacama Desert is the driest nonpolar desert in th ...

, it borders the

El Loa El Loa Province ( es, Provincia El Loa) is one of three provinces of the northern Chilean region of Antofagasta (II). It is named after the longest of rivers in Chile, the Loa River. The provincial capital is Calama. Geography and demography A ...

and

Tocopilla Tocopilla is a city and commune in the Antofagasta Region, in the north of Chile. It is the capital of the province that bears the same name. Every year Tocopilla celebrates its anniversary on 29 September with a big show the day before, which ...

provinces to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the West and the Atacama Region to the south.

History

Before 1866, this region was disputed and claimed by Chile and Bolivia. After the Boundary Treaty of 1866 between the two nations the province was part Bolivia, and was known as the Atacama Department, or the Litoral. The Secret Treaty of 1873 between

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

and Bolivia was followed by the Boundary Treaty of 1874 between Bolivia and Chile. Afterwards Chile defeated both Peru and Bolivia in the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific ( es, link=no, Guerra del Pacífico), also known as the Saltpeter War ( es, link=no, Guerra del salitre) and by multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought ...

of 1879–84. The Antofagasta region was occupied by Chile during the War and administered as the Antofagasta Territory (which was neither a province or department) until 1888, when the Antofagasta Department was created. It was officially ceded to Chile by Bolivia in 1904. Bolivia still argues that this was a forced takeover of part of a country by a stronger nation.

Geography

The province spans an area of in the Atacama Desert. It is the second largest province in the country, second only to Antártica Chilena Province (1,265,853.7 km²), which is not internationally recognized. Its area is rich in saline and other mineral deposits with the important Caracoles silver mines about north-east of the Antofagasta. Like the other provinces of this region, Antofagasta produces for export copper, silver, silver ores, lead, nitrate of soda, borax and salt. Iron and manganese ores are also found here.

Demography

According to the 2002 census by the

National Statistics Institute National Institute of Statistics may refer to: *National Institute of Statistics of Bolivia *National Institute of Statistics of Cambodia *National Institute of Statistics and Census of Costa Rica *National Institute of Statistics and Census of Nica ...

, the province had a 2012 population of 359,353, and a population density of . Of this population, 313,244 (98.3%) lived in urban areas and 5,535 (1.7%) in rural areas. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 29.1% (71,779 persons). Besides Antofagasta, the principal towns are

Taltal Taltal is a Chilean commune and city in Antofagasta Province, Antofagasta Region. According to the 2012 census, the commune has a population of 11,132 and has an area of . The commune is home to Paranal Observatory and includes the northern po ...

and

Mejillones Mejillones is a Chilean port city and commune in Antofagasta Province in the Antofagasta Region. Its name is the plural form of the Spanish meaning " mussel", referring to a particularly abundant species and preferred staple food of its indige ...

Administration

As a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

, Antofagasta is a second-level administrative division of Chile, which is further subdivided into four

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...

(''comunas''). The province is administered by a presidentially appointed regional delegate. Government headquarters, before the suppression of provincial governments, were located at Arturo Prat N° 384, Piso 6, Antofagasta.

References

External links

*
Government of Antofagasta
{{Authority control Provinces of Chile Provinces of Antofagasta Region