Antofagasta () is a

port city A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manche ...

in northern

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, about north of

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and

Antofagasta Region The Antofagasta Region (, ) is one of Chile's Administrative divisions of Chile, sixteen first-order administrative divisions. Being the second-largest region of Chile in area, it comprises three provinces, Antofagasta Province, Antofagasta, El ...

. According to the 2015 census, the

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

has a population of 402,669. Once claimed by

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

following the

Spanish American wars of independence The Spanish American wars of independence () took place across the Spanish Empire during the early 19th century. The struggles in both hemispheres began shortly after the outbreak of the Peninsular War, forming part of the broader context of the ...

, Antofagasta was captured by Chile on 14 February 1879, triggering the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific (), also known by War of the Pacific#Etymology, multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Treaty of Defensive Alliance (Bolivia–Peru), Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought over Atacama Desert ...

(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 Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

and

saltpeter Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with a sharp, salty, bitter taste and the chemical formula . It is a potassium salt of nitric acid. This salt consists of potassium cations and nitrate anions , and is therefore an alkali metal nitrate ...

mining have been historically important for Antofagasta, since the mid-19th century

copper mining Copper extraction is the multi-stage process of obtaining copper from list of copper ores, its ores. The conversion of copper ores consists of a series of physical, chemical, and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with coun ...

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 The 2000s commodities boom, commodities super cycle or China boom was the rise of many physical commodity prices (such as those of food, oil, metals, chemicals and fuels) during the early 21st century (2000–2014), following the Great Commoditie ...

in 2013. Since the 2010s Antofagasta is also a service hub for

lithium Lithium (from , , ) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard temperature and pressure, standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the ...

mining. In 2012, Antofagasta has the highest

GDP per capita This is a list of countries by nominal GDP per capita. GDP per capita is the total value of a country's finished goods and services (gross domestic product) divided by its total population (per capita). Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is ...

of Chile, US$37,000 and the 3rd place for

Human Development Index The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistical composite index of life expectancy, Education Index, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income i ...

just after Metropolitana de Santiago Region and Magallanes and Antártica Chilena Region.

History

Early settlers

The territory of Antofagasta was included in maps of the

Captaincy General of Chile The General Captaincy of Chile (''Capitanía General de Chile'' ), Governorate of Chile, or Kingdom of Chile, was a territory of the Spanish Empire from 1541 to 1818 that was, initially, part of the Viceroyalty of Peru. It comprised most of mod ...

in the 18th century, depending from the city of

Copiapó Copiapó () is a List of cities in Chile, city and communes of Chile, commune in northern Chile, located about 65 kilometers east of the coastal List of towns in Chile, town of Caldera, Chile, Caldera. Founded on December 8, 1744, it is the capi ...

. 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 Nitrate is a polyatomic ion with the chemical formula . salt (chemistry), Salts containing this ion are called nitrates. Nitrates are common components of fertilizers and explosives. Almost all inorganic nitrates are solubility, soluble in wa ...

lands, following a request taken to the Bolivian government. The exploring of the Chilean miners found rich deposits of

( 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 Bolivian Government 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.

War of the Pacific

In 1873, Bolivia signed a secret treaty of defensive alliance with Peru. This would be used as an argument 5 years later in Chile, when it unleashed the

. The secret alliance forbade Bolivia from signing a border treaty with Chile, without consulting with

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. However, in 1874 Chile and Bolivia signed a border treaty, which replaced the previous treaty of 1866. One of its points was not to impose new taxes on individuals, industries and Chilean capital for 25 years. 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 The Loa River (Spanish: Río Loa) is a U-shaped river in Chile's northern Antofagasta Region. At long, it is the country's longest river and the main watercourse in the Atacama Desert. Course The Loa's sources are located on Andean mountain sl ...

and parallel 23 would be under the administration of Chile, while Bolivia would be allowed access to the ports of

Arica Arica ( ; ) is a commune and a port city with a population of 222,619 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica y Parinacota Region. It is Chile's northernmost city, being located only south of the border with Peru. The city is the ca ...

and Antofagasta.

20th century

The ''Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Chile and Bolivia'', signed on 20 October 1904, and promulgated on 21 March 1905, established in perpetuity border between Chile and Bolivia. In 1912, the British community (''La Colonia Britanica'') erected a clock tower, replicating Big Ben, in Plaza Colón to celebrate the republic's centenary. Chile - 43-2548 - Docks at Antofagasta

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 The University of Chile () is a public university, public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

. 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 The Richter scale (), also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale, is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Richter in collaboration with Beno Gutenberg, and pr ...

, with an intensity VII to VIII on the Mercalli Scale. Antofa

2000–present

The city was awarded the installation of the ''Casino Enjoy Antofagasta''. 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.

Geography

The city has an average elevation of . The urban area of Antofagasta begins abruptly, breaking the monotony of the

desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

and is located in the coastal plains, south of Mejillones Peninsula and north of "''Cerro Coloso''". The

Tropic of Capricorn The Tropic of Capricorn (or the Southern Tropic) is the circle of latitude that contains the subsolar point at the December (or southern) solstice. It is thus the southernmost latitude where the Sun can be seen directly overhead. It also reach ...

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 In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

. The city has little vegetation because it is situated in the

Atacama Desert The Atacama Desert () is a desert plateau located on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of South America, in the north of Chile. Stretching over a strip of land west of the Andes Mountains, it covers an area of , which increases to if the barre ...

, which is the world's driest nonpolar desert. However, among the vegetated areas are a series of urban wetlands. Native reptiles,

arthropod Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...

s, birds like the ''

Calidris ''Calidris'' is a genus of Arctic-breeding, strongly migratory wading birds in the family Scolopacidae. These birds form huge mixed flocks on coasts and estuaries in winter. Migratory shorebirds are shown to have decline in reproductive traits ...

'' and mammals like the culpeo fox, inhabit or visit the wetlands. Some of these wetlands are threatened by garbage, street dogs, extraction of water, establishments of

shack A shack (or, in some areas, shanty) is a type of small shelter or dwelling, often primitive or rudimentary in design and construction. Unlike huts, shacks are constructed by hand using available materials; however, whereas huts are usually r ...

s () 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.

Climate

The town of Antofagasta has a cold desert climate (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''BWk'') with abundant sunshine and strong maritime influence. The marked aridity and

water scarcity Water scarcity (closely related to water stress or water crisis) is the lack of fresh water resources to meet the standard water demand. There are two types of water scarcity. One is ''physical.'' The other is ''economic water scarcity''. Physic ...

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 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, of which the most important episodes in 1940 and 1991. SRTM-S24

Hydrology

There are about fifteen streams that have watersheds 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. 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.

Governance

As a commune, Antofagasta is a third-level

administrative division of Chile The administrative division or territorial organization of Chile exemplifies characteristics of a unitary state. State administration is functionally and geographically decentralized, as appropriate for each authority in accordance with the law ...

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, borough cou ...

, headed by an

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

who is directly elected every four years. As of 2021, the mayor is Jonathan Velásquez. The communal council has the following members: * Gabriel Alvial Ibarbe (Ind.) * Roberto Jorquera Vergara (Ind./PR) * Ignacio Pozo Piña (PR) * Norma Leiva Escalona (PS) * Paz Fuica Contreras (FA) * Camilo Kong Pineda (FA) * Karina Guzmán Arias (FRVS) * Waldo Valderrama Salazar (PCCh) * Natalia Sánchez Muñoz (PTR) Within the

electoral divisions of Chile This article covers the electoral division of Chile, which involves two distinct systems: # Chamber of Deputies of Chile, Chamber of Deputies and Senate of Chile, Senate: Chile is divided into electoral districts and senatorial constituencies for ...

, Antofagasta 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 Bourb ...

by Marcela Hernando ( PRSD) and Paulina Nuñez ( RN) as part of the 4th electoral district, together with Mejillones,

Sierra Gorda The Sierra Gorda () is an Ecoregion, ecological region centered on the northern third of the List of states of Mexico, Mexican state of Querétaro and extending into the neighboring states of Guanajuato, Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo and San Luis Po ...

and Taltal. 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 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.

Economy

Antofagasta's economic development is mainly based on copper mining and nonmetallic minerals such as

and

iodine Iodine is a chemical element; it has symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists at standard conditions as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid that melts to form a deep violet liquid at , and boils to a vi ...

. 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

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 Líder (Spanish for ''Leader'') is a Chilean hypermarket chain originally owned and operated by Distribución y Servicio (DyS) but sold to United States, US American corporation Walmart in 2009.

", "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.

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. 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.

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 The University of Antofagasta (also referred to as UA) is a public research university located in Antofagasta, Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the wor ...

, 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. Although the public schools 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".

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

won the bronze medal. 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).

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. 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

, the

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

of the Municipality of Antofagasta.

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 An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...

, operates mostly as a terminal for national flights, with one international airline, LATAM Peru, flying to

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

. In this terminal three domestic airlines also operate,

LATAM Chile LATAM Airlines Chile, formerly known as LAN Chile and LAN Airlines, is a Chilean multinational corporation, multinational airline based in Santiago and one of the founding companies of the LATAM Airlines Group, the largest airline holding compa ...

, JetSMART and Sky Airlines.

Port

The city has a port complex of seven docks, inaugurated by President

Carlos Ibáñez del Campo General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo (; 3 November 1877 – 28 April 1960) was a Chilean Army officer and political figure. He served as president twice, first between 1927 and 1931, and then from 1952 to 1958, serving for 10 years in office. E ...

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. Escondida, the biggest private mining company in Chile, has a private port located in southern city, near Cerro Coloso.

Public transport

The higher transportation consists of thirteen lines of

minibus A minibus, microbus, or minicoach is a passenger-carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, the word "minibus" is us ...

es, 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. The lower transport consists of

taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...

s lines, corresponding to a black sedans that make their way through the urban area through fixed routes.

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. 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 copper cathodes and

sulfuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen, ...

- via a long rail network that is connected to the Ferrocarril Andino de Bolivia, Ferronor (Chile), and Ferrocarril Belgrano in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

( Salta–Antofagasta railway). Its gauge is .

Future commuter rail

Due to the accelerated urban and demographic growth of Antofagasta during 2000–2010, a

commuter train Commuter rail or suburban rail is a passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Commuter rail systems can use locomotive-hauled tr ...

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 twinned with: * Ambato, Tungurahua,

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

, Split-Dalmatia,

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Tongling Tongling () is a prefecture-level city in southern Anhui province of China. A river port along the Yangtze River, Tongling borders Wuhu to the east, Chizhou to the southwest and Anqing to the west. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1, ...

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Volos Volos (; ) is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about north of Athens and south of Thessaloniki. It is the capital of the Magnesia (regional unit), Magnesia regional unit of the Thessaly Region. Volos ...

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References

External links

Municipality of Antofagasta

{{Authority control Communes of Chile Port cities in Chile Capitals of Chilean regions Capitals of Chilean provinces Populated places established in 1868 Metropolitan areas of Chile Populated places in Antofagasta Province 1868 establishments in Chile Coasts of Antofagasta Region