- Calama, Chile
Infobox Settlement
name =
official_name =Calama
other_name =
native_name =
nickname =
settlement_type =
total_type =
motto ="Calama, land of sun and copper"
imagesize =
image_caption =
flag_size =
image_
seal_size =
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image_blank_emblem =
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blank_emblem_size =
mapsize =100px
map_caption = The map of the Calama in the Antofagasta Region.
mapsize1 =
map_caption1 =
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dot_mapsize =
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pushpin_
pushpin_label_position =
pushpin_map_caption =Location with Chile
pushpin_mapsize =75
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = CHI
subdivision_type1 = Region
subdivision_name1 = Antofagasta Region
subdivision_type2 =
subdivision_name2 =
seat_type =
seat =
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parts =
p1 =
p2 =
government_footnotes =
government_type =
leader_title =Mayor
leader_name =Arturo Molina Henríquez
leader_title1 =
leader_name1 =
established_title =Founded
established_date = XVI century
area_magnitude =
unit_pref =
area_footnotes =
area_total_km2 = 15597
area_land_km2 =
area_water_km2 =
area_total_sq_mi =
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area_water_sq_mi =
area_water_percent =
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 2400
elevation_ft =7900
elevation_max_m =
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elevation_min_m =
elevation_min_ft =
population_as_of =2005
population_footnotes =
population_note =
population_total =143000
population_density_km2 =9.2
population_density_sq_mi =
timezone = Santiago Time Zone
utc_offset = -4
timezone_DST =
utc_offset_DST =
coor_type =
latd=22 |latm=28 |lats= |latNS=S
longd=68 |longm=56 |longs= |longEW=W
postal_code_type =Postal code
postal_code =1399001
area_code =55
website = [http://www.municipalidaddecalama.cl www.municipalidaddecalama.cl]
footnotes =Calama is a city and commune in the
Atacama Desert in northernChile . It is the capital ofEl Loa Province , part of theAntofagasta Region . Calama is one of the driest cities in the world with average annual precipitation of just 5 mm (0.2 inches)Fact|date=March 2007. TheRiver Loa , Chile's longest, flows through the city. Calama has a population of 143,000 (2005 census ).The commune also encompasses the
Quechuas communities of Estación San Pedro,Toconce and Cupo; and theLickan-antay communities of Taira, Conchi Viejo,Lasana ,San Francisco de Chiu Chiu , Aiquina-Turi, andCaspana .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
Chuquicamata , the village ofSan Pedro de Atacama , Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon), theLicancabur volcano,R. P. Gustavo Le Paige Archaeological Museum ,Los Flamencos National Reserve , theAguas Calientes salt flat , theTuyajto lagoon , the El Tatio Geysers, the village ofChiu-Chiu .In
2003 the nearby town ofChuquicamata , 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 ofChuquicamata 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
Kunza , spoken in the past by theLickan-antay , an ethnic group that to this day resides in theEl Loa Province .Hector Pumarino Soto suggests that "Calama" stems from the
Kunza 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 theRiver 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
Kunza word "Ckolama," which means "place wherepartridge s abound". This is supposed testimony to the abundance of such a bird, living over everything in the middle of the western swamp sector.History
Prehispanic Era
The exact evidence related to the history of Calama does exist, including
petroglyph 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 inChuquicamata .At the intersection of the Camino del Inca (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
corn andalfalfa give testimony of the high capacity to supply food to the troops of Chasquis and to give tribute to theInca . In fact, whenDiego de Almagro , returning fromCusco , 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
silver 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 theBourbon Reforms , Calama depended directly of the Intendencia de Potosí.Bolivian Republic Era
After
Bolivia '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 deAtacama , 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
Chile andBolivia did not reach either Calama or the Province ofAtacama . The greater dispute concentrated in the central prairie and in the coast, where they began to discover richsilver deposits,saltpeter , andguano . 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 Chileantroops , under the command ofcolonel Emilio Sotomayor Baeza, disembarked and peacefully took the port ofAntofagasta 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 inBolivia , returned as one of 4° order under the Chilean administration (subdelegation). Recently in 1888, under thegovernment ofJosé Manuel Balmaceda , 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 Railway, which further expedited shipments through Calama.Geography
Calama contains two distinct entities: thedesert and theAndes Mountain Range. Between convert|2000|m|ft|-2|abbr=on and convert|3000|m|ft|-2|spell=us, thecold desert climate is characterized by annualprecipitation that does not surpass convert|75|mm|in. Theaverage temperature is convert|11.2|°C throughout theyear (with drastic changes between daily highs of over convert|20|°C and daily lows below zero inwinter and maximums of over convert|30|°C insummer .References
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