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Antofagasta is a port city and episcopal see in northern Chile, about 700 miles (1,130 km) north of Santiago. It is the capital of both Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region.
The city's name comes from either a Quechua or Aymara word for "town of the great saltpeter bed."
Antofagasta is a long and narrow city located south of the Mejillones Peninsula and north of the Cerro Coloso, 700 miles (1,130 km) north of Santiago. The city is bordered on the east by steep hills that are part of Chile's Cordillera de la Costa, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.
Antofagasta lies in the Atacama Desert, which is among the Earth's driest regions. According to The Chilean Geological Magazine, annual rainfall in the city averages less than 4 mm, and there was a period of 40 years when no rain fell.
Mejillones is a small port 65 km to the north, on the northern part of Peninsula de Mejillones. About 90 km north of Antofagasta is Hornitos, a beach that attracts both tourists and locals.
Tocopilla is a coastal city 188 km north of Antofagasta. Calama, the second-largest city in the Antofagasta Region, is 213 km northeast of the regional capital. La Negra is a medium-sized industrial complex approximately 10 km south-east of Antofagasta, on the Pan-American Highway.
 HISTORY OF ANTOFAGASTA
The first native inhabitants were the Changos, who fished, gathered shellfish, and hunted sea lions. The region was also part of the Incan Empire.
Founded between 1866 and 1874 as a seaport for the recently discovered silver mines nearby, Antofagasta's original name was Penas Blancas (Spanish for "White Boulders"). It was part of the Litoral Province of Bolivia until February 14, 1879, when it was occupied by Chilean troops. This event marked the beginning of the War of the Pacific.
Antofagasta is sometimes referred to as the Captive Province in Bolivia. The Bolivian government has made efforts to regain control of the city.
ECONOMY OF ANTOFAGASTA
Antofagasta's economic development has been based on extraction of raw materials. Primary extraction has shifted from guano to potassium nitrate (saltpeter) to copper. Antofagasta was formerly known as the main copper port of Chile, however, in recent years Mejillones have taken the leadership in copper transportation mainly due major infrastructure investment in that area (including a new port called "Megapuerto de Mejillones"). The city's economic mainstay is based on providing housing and services to the mining operations surrounding the city.
Antofagasta's industrial complex is north of the city. The city has a small agricultural zone in Quebrada La Chimba.
TRANSPORTATION
Antofagasta has an airport, Aeropuerto Cerro Moreno, with civilian and military operations. The city also has two seaports: one is a government-owned port near downtown Antofagasta; the other is part of La Escondida copper mine and is located south of the city, near Cerro Coloso.
North of the city, along the seacoast, is a natural monument that features a large rock with a wave-created opening, called La Portada de Antofagasta ("The Doorway to Antofagasta").
From Wikipedia.org, the Free Encyclopedia
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