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Antofagasta Province (Spanish: Provincia de Antofagasta) is one of three provinces in the northern Chilean region of Antofagasta (II). The capital is the port city of Antofagasta. Located within the Atacama Desert, it borders the El Loa and Tocopilla provinces to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the West and the Atacama Region to the south.
Antofagasta Province
Provincia de Antofagasta | |
|---|---|
 La Portada | |
 Seal
 Location in the Antofagasta Region   Antofagasta Province Location in Chile | |
| Coordinates: 24°37′S 69°32′W / 24.617°S 69.533°W | |
| Country |  Chile |
| Region |  Antofagasta |
| Capital | Antofagasta |
| Communes | List of 4: |
| Government | |
| • Type | Provincial |
| • Presidential Provincial Delegate | None |
| Area | |
• Province | 67,813.5 km2 (26,182.9 sq mi) |
| Population (2012 Census)[2] | |
• Province | 359,353 |
| • Rank | 1 |
| • Density | 5.3/km2 (14/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 313,244 |
| • Rural | 5,535 |
| Sex | |
| • Men | 165,847 |
| • Women | 152,932 |
| Time zone | UTC-4 (CLT[3]) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-3 (CLST[4]) |
| Area code | 56 + 55 |
| Website | Government of Antofagasta |
History
editBefore 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 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 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)[5] until 1888, when the Antofagasta Department was created.[6] It was officially ceded to Chile by Bolivia in 1904.[7] Bolivia still argues that this was a forced takeover of part of a country by a stronger nation.
Geography
editThe province spans an area of 67,813.5 km2 (26,183 sq mi)[2] 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 90 miles (140 km) 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.[7]
Demography
editAccording to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute, the province had a 2012 population of 359,353, and a population density of 4.7/km2 (12/sq mi). 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).[2]
Besides Antofagasta, the principal towns are Taltal and Mejillones.
Administration
editAs a province, Antofagasta is a second-level administrative division of Chile, which is further subdivided into four communes (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.[1]
| Commune | Area (km2)[2] | 2002[2] Population |
Density (km2) |
Government website[8] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taltal | 20,405.1 | 11,100 | 0.5 | link |
| Sierra Gorda | 12,866.4 | 2,356 | 0.2 | link |
| Mejillones | 3,803.9 | 8,418 | 2.2 | link |
| Antofagasta (Capital) |
30,718.1 | 296,905 | 9.7 | link |
| Province | 67,793.5 | 318,779 | 4.7 | link |
References
edit- ^ a b "Gobernadores". Government of Chile (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Territorial division of Chile" (PDF) (in Spanish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 November 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2011.
- ^ "Chile Time". WorldTimeZones.org. Archived from the original on 13 July 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
- ^ "Chile Summer Time". WorldTimeZones.org. Archived from the original on 2007-09-11. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
- ^ "CAMARA DE SENADORES". Diario oficial de la República de Chile. Oficina de la Impr. nacional. 1888-08-04. pp. 1, 376. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
- ^ Bianchi Tupper, Alvaro (1888). "El Nuevo Mapa de Chile". Boletín de la Sociedad de Fomento Fabril. La Sociedad. p. 396.
- ^ a b One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Antofagasta". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 147–148.
- ^ "Asociacion Chilena de Municipalidades" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 19 April 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
External links
edit- (in Spanish) Government of Antofagasta