San Pedro de Atacama is a

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 ...

an town and

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

El Loa Province 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 ...

Antofagasta Region The Antofagasta Region ( es, Región de Antofagasta, ) is one of Chile's sixteen first-order administrative divisions. The second-largest region of Chile in area, it comprises three provinces, Antofagasta, El Loa and Tocopilla. It is bordered t ...

. It is located east of

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 ...

, some 106 km (60 mi) southeast of Calama and the

Chuquicamata Chuquicamata ( ; referred to as Chuqui for short) is the largest open pit copper mine in terms of excavated volume in the world. It is located in the north of Chile, just outside Calama, at above sea level. It is northeast of Antofagasta and ...

copper mine, overlooking the

Licancabur Licancabur () is a stratovolcano on the border between Bolivia and Chile, south of the Sairecabur volcano and west of Juriques. Part of the Andean Central Volcanic Zone, it has a prominent, -high cone. A summit crater containing Licancab ...

volcano. It features a significant archeological museum, the R. P. Gustavo Le Paige Archaeological Museum, with a large collection of relics and artifacts from the region. Native ruins nearby attract increasing numbers of tourists interested in learning about

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, th ...

cultures.

History

San Pedro de Atacama grew, over centuries, around an

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

in the

Puna de Atacama The Puna de Atacama or Atacama Plateau''Atacama Plateau''
article at the ''

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...

. Its first inhabitants were the

Atacameño The Atacama people, also called Atacameño, are indigenous people from the Atacama Desert and altiplano region in the north of Chile and Argentina and southern Bolivia, mainly Antofagasta Region. According to the Argentinean Census in 2010, 13,9 ...

s, who developed basketworks and ceramic pottery crafts that can be now be appreciated by tourists in the several souvenir shops as typical products of San Pedro de Atacama. It was part of

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

since independence from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

until

claimed ownership during 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 ...

. During that war, the

Battle of Río Grande The Battle of Río Grande was a minor military engagement that took place on 10 September 1879, during the War of the Pacific. A picket of Chilean soldiers and a Bolivian montonera clashed in Rio Grande, around San Pedro de Atacama. Bolivians a ...

was fought in the surroundings.

Demographics

According to the 2002

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 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 ...

, San Pedro de Atacama had 4,969 inhabitants (2,928 males and 2,041 females). Of these, 1,938 (39%) lived in

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ...

s and 3,031 (61%) in

rural area In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...

s. The population grew by 75.6% (2,140 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, San Pedro de Atacama is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

, headed by an

alcalde Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) a ...

who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Sandra Berna Martínez. Within the electoral divisions of Chile, San Pedro de Atacama is represented in the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

by Marcos Espinosa ( PRSD) and Felipe Ward (

UDI Udi may refer to: Places * Udi, Enugu, a local government areas and city in Nigeria * Udi, a place in the Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh, India People * Udi Gal (born 1979), Israeli Olympic sailor * Udi Vaks (born 1979), Israeli Olympic judoka ...

) as part of the third electoral district, (together with

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 ...

, María Elena, Calama and

Ollagüe Ollagüe () or Ullawi () is a massive andesite stratovolcano in the Andes on the border between Bolivia and Chile, within the Antofagasta Region of Chile and the Potosi Department of Bolivia. Part of the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes, it ...

). The commune is represented in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

by Alejandro Guillier Álvarez ( PRSD) and Pedro Araya Guerrero ( Ind.) as part of the second senatorial constituency (Antofagasta Region).

Climate

The town lies at an average of , thus visitors often experience mild

altitude sickness Altitude sickness, the mildest form being acute mountain sickness (AMS), is the harmful effect of high altitude, caused by rapid exposure to low amounts of oxygen at high elevation. People can respond to high altitude in different ways. Sympt ...

such as dizziness, lethargy and headaches. The local climate is extremely dry and mild, with daytime temperatures between in the summer (December to February) and in the winter (June to August). Nighttime temperatures routinely drop below and can reach as low as in the winter. Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as

cold desert The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(BWk) for an isotherm of the mean yearly temperature of lower than .

Transportation

San Pedro lies on the main paved road from

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

over the

Paso de Jama The Paso de Jama is a mountain pass through the Andes between Chile and Argentina, at an elevation of at the border. It is the northernmost road border crossing between the two countries. The pass is reached via Chile Route 27 and via National ...

, 160 km from the town. The road is paved throughout. There are frequent bus services to Calama, several buses daily to

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

and buses on 6 days a week to

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Argentine province of the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the 7th most-populous city in Argentina. The city serves as the cultural and economic ce ...

across the Andes in

. Nearby airports are San Pedro de Atacama Airport and

Salar de Atacama Airport El Salar Airport ( es, Aeropuerto El Salar, ) is a high elevation airport serving the mineral salt mining operations on the Salar de Atacama salt flat, in the Antofagasta Region of Chile. See also * * *Transport in Chile *List of airports in C ...

for private aircraft, and the larger El Loa Airport/Calama 100 km away for scheduled aircraft.

Tourism

San Pedro de Atacama is a popular tourist destination. There are various activities for adventurers in the San Pedro de Atacama area: trekking, climbing, archaeological sightings,

amateur astronomy Amateur astronomy is a hobby where participants enjoy observing or imaging celestial objects in the sky using the unaided eye, binoculars, or telescopes. Even though scientific research may not be their primary goal, some amateur astronomers m ...

, exploration tours in natural landscapes and even sand boarding in the desert. Because of its altitude, a brief period of acclimatization may be required.

Sights in town

In the town are some cultural and scientific sites: * R. P. Gustavo Le Paige Archaeological Museum, displaying ceramics and pottery crafts from the first inhabitants of the area. * Church of San Pedro de Atacama a National Monument, built with

adobe Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for ''mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of e ...

, a building material used in the colonial times.
Meteorite Museum
displays and explains meteorites of various compositions, from various celestial sources, some of which an international collaboration has gathered in the large, infrequently disturbed collection area of the Atacama.

Outlying sights

* Chaxas Lagoon, part of

Los Flamencos National Reserve Los Flamencos National Reserve is a nature reserve located in the commune of San Pedro de Atacama, Antofagasta Region of northern Chile. The reserve covers a total area of in the Central Andean dry puna ecoregion and consists of seven separate sec ...

in the Salar de Atacama, inhabited by pink

flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes are a type of Wader, wading bird in the Family (biology), family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas ...

s. * El Tatio, a geyser field with over 80 active geysers. *

Llano de Chajnantor Observatory Llano de Chajnantor Observatory is the name for a group of astronomical observatories located at an altitude of over 4,800 m (15,700 ft) in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. The site is in the Antofagasta Region approximately 50 ki ...

, a

radio-telescope A radio telescope is a specialized antenna and radio receiver used to detect radio waves from astronomical radio sources in the sky. Radio telescopes are the main observing instrument used in radio astronomy, which studies the radio frequency ...

site, home of "ALMA", the

Atacama Large Millimeter Array The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is an astronomical interferometer of 66 radio telescopes in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, which observe electromagnetic radiation at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. The a ...

. *

Laguna Miscanti Miscanti Lake (Spanish: ''Laguna Miscanti'') is a brackish water lake located in the altiplano of the Antofagasta Region in northern Chile. Cerro Miñiques volcano and Cerro Miscanti tower over this lake. This large heart-shaped lake has a deep ...

(Miscanti Lagoon) and

Laguna Miñiques Miñiques is the name of a lake and a volcano in Chile. It lies south of Laguna Miscanti and at the foot of the Cerro Miscanti volcano. The lake is fed from Laguna Miscanti by seepage and its waters are brackish. Lake Laguna Miñiques lies at ...

(Miñiques Lagoon), two neighbouring altiplanic lagoons at the altitude of 4,200 m (13,500 ft). *

, a notable volcano near San Pedro de Atacama. * Pukará de Quitor (Fort Quitor). A fortification built by the

people in the 12th century. *

Puritama Hot Springs Puritama Hot Springs (Spanish: ''Termas Baños de Puritama'') is a series of eight large pools of geothermal spring water located at the bottom of a canyon in the Atacama Desert, in the Antofagasta Region in the north of Chile. It is located at a ...

Salar de Atacama Salar de Atacama is the largest salt flat in Chile. It is located south of San Pedro de Atacama, is surrounded by mountains, and has no drainage outlets. In the east it is enclosed by the main chain of the Andes, while to the west lies a secondar ...

, a giant salt area (3,000 km² / 1,864.11 mi²) in the middle of the Atacama Desert. * Valle de la Luna ("Valley of the Moon"), a moon-like landscape with ruins of old Chilean salt mines, and worker huts. *''Valle de la Muerte'' (Death Valley): a valley where gigantic dunes and rocks abound.

Holidays and festivals in San Pedro de Atacama

The festivals includes typical dances, masses in the street and a little parade through the main street of San Pedro de Atacama. *June 28 - Saint Peter *June 29 - Saint Paul *Feb 2 - Virgin de la Candelaria

Image gallery

image:San Pedro de Atacama (street view).jpg, Street view of San Pedro de Atacama Image:San pedro atacama - daniel s andrade.jpg, San Pedro de Atacama Church Image:Licancabur Snow.jpg,

volcano viewed from San Pedro de Atacama Image:Lamas in the sunset San Pedro de Atacama Chile Luca Galuzzi 2006.jpg, Llamas in the sunset near San Pedro de Atacama Image:Chaxas.JPG, Part of the Chaxas lagoon in the Salar de Atacama. Image:Valle del Arcoiris.jpg, Rainbow Valley.

References

External links