Chañaral
city in Chile From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chañaral is a small coastal city and commune in the Atacama region in the north of Chile. It is the capital of the province of Chañaral.
Chañaral | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
 Coat of arms  The Chañaral commune in the Atacama Region   Chañaral Location in Chile | |
| Coordinates: 26°20′40″S 70°37′19″W | |
| Country |  Chile |
| Region | Atacama |
| Province | Chañaral |
| Founded | 26 October 1833 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipal council |
| • Alcalde | Héctor Volta Rojas |
| Area | |
| • Total | 5,772.4 km2 (2,228.7 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 198 m (650 ft) |
| Population (2002 Census)[2] | |
| • Total | 13,143 |
| • Density | 2.3/km2 (5.9/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC−4 (CLT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−3 (CLST) |
| Area code | 56 + 552 |
| Climate | BWn |
| Website | Official website |
Its name, Chañaral means a "place where there are many trees of chaña" (the Chilean name for Geoffroea decorticans).
In 1824, Diego de Almeyda found a large area with copper ore in the region; later, he looked for a place from where to export the mineral and began to form a small village in the place where is the present town of Chanaral. In 26 October 1833, José Joaquín Prieto founded the Distrito de Chañaral ("Chañaral District").[3]
The commune of Chañaral has an area of 5,772.4 km2 (2,228.7 sq mi).[2] The city of Chañaral is to the north of Santiago at 788 km (490 mi) and to the north of the city of Copiapó at 167 km (104 mi).
The commune is bordered on the north by the Antofagasta region, on the east by the Diego de Almagro commune, on the south by the Copiapó province and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.
Near the town of Chañaral, to the north, is the Pan de Azúcar National Park.[4]
The Salado river flows into the Pacific Ocean in the commune of Chañaral; it is about 140 km (87 mi) long.[5]
Chañaral has a very dry climate, a desert climate. The average amount of precipitation for the year, during 47 years, is only 12.3 mm (0.5 in).[5]
As of 2002[update] (last national census), there were 13,143 people living in the commune, giving it a population density of 2.3 inhabitants/km².[2]
Chañaral is the largest city of the province with a population, in 2002, of 12,123 inhabitants. The small town of Salado has 1,149 inhabitants.[2]
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
