San Pedro de Atacama

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San Pedro de Atacama is a Chilean town and commune in El Loa Province, Antofagasta Region. It is located east of Antofagasta, some 106 km (60 mi) southeast of Calama and the Chuquicamata copper mine, overlooking the Licancabur volcano. It features a significant archeological museum, the R. P. Gustavo Le Paige Archaeological Museum, with a large collection of relics and artifacts from the region. Native ruins nearby attract increasing numbers of tourists interested in learning about pre-Columbian cultures.

History

San Pedro de Atacama grew, over centuries, around an oasis in the Puna de Atacama, an arid high plateau. Its first inhabitants were the Atacameños, who developed basketworks and ceramic pottery crafts that can be now be appreciated by tourists in the several souvenir shops as typical products of San Pedro de Atacama.<ref name="letsgochile.com">Template:Cite web</ref> There is debate over what degree of connection the Atacameños had to the Tiwanaku culture.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

It was part of Bolivia since independence from Spain until Chile claimed ownership during the War of the Pacific. During that war, the Battle of Río Grande was fought in the surroundings.Template:Citation needed With the creation of Atacama Province in 1829 San Pedro de Atacama lost its traditional status as regional capital to the port Cobija.<ref name=plata>Template:Cite journal</ref> As the government of Andrés de Santa Cruz sought to link the port of Cobija to the rest of Bolivia it promoted the cultivation of alfalfa in San Pedro to provide forage for travellers between the Altiplano and the coast.<ref name=plata/>

On July 18, 2024, the region suffered a 7.4 magnitude earthquake.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Demographics

According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, San Pedro de Atacama had 4,969 inhabitants (2,928 males and 2,041 females). Of these, 1,938 (39%) lived in urban areas and 3,031 (61%) in rural areas. The population grew by 75.6% (2,140 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.<ref name= "INE"/>

Administration

Template:Unreferenced section As a commune, San Pedro de Atacama is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Sandra Berna Martínez.

Within the electoral divisions of Chile, San Pedro de Atacama is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Marcos Espinosa (PRSD) and Felipe Ward (UDI) as part of the third electoral district, (together with Tocopilla, María Elena, Calama and Ollagüe). The commune is represented in the Senate by Alejandro Guillier Álvarez (PRSD) and Pedro Araya Guerrero (Ind.) as part of the second senatorial constituency (Antofagasta Region).

Climate

The town lies at an average of Template:Convert, thus visitors often experience mild altitude sickness such as dizziness, lethargy and headaches.<ref name=MedicalProblems>Template:Cite journal</ref> The local climate is extremely dry and mild, with daytime temperatures between Template:Convert in the summer (December to February) and Template:Convert in the winter (June to August). Nighttime temperatures routinely drop below Template:Convert and can reach as low as Template:Convert in the winter. The record high temperature of Template:Convert was registered in January 2024 in San Pedro de Atacama.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as cold desert (BWk)<ref name="Climate-Data.org">Template:Cite web</ref> for an isotherm of the mean yearly temperature of lower than Template:Convert.

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Transportation

Template:Unreferenced section San Pedro lies on the main paved road from Argentina over the Paso de Jama, 160 km from the town. The road is paved throughout. There are frequent bus services to Calama, several buses daily to Santiago and buses on 6 days a week to Salta across the Andes in Argentina. Nearby airports are San Pedro de Atacama Airport and Salar de Atacama Airport for private aircraft, and the larger El Loa Airport/Calama 100 km away for scheduled aircraft.

Tourism

San Pedro de Atacama is a popular tourist destination.<ref name="robinsonlameriquelatinefaceau">Template:Cite journal</ref> There are various activities for adventurers in the San Pedro de Atacama area: trekking, climbing, archaeological sightings, amateur astronomy, exploration tours in natural landscapes and even sand boarding in the desert. Because of its altitude, a brief period of acclimatization may be required.Template:Citation needed

Sights in town

Template:Unreferenced section In the town are some cultural and scientific sites:

  • R. P. Gustavo Le Paige Archaeological Museum, displaying ceramics and pottery crafts from the first inhabitants of the area.
  • Church of San Pedro de Atacama a National Monument, built with adobe, a building material used in the colonial times.
  • Meteorite Museum displays and explains meteorites of various compositions, from various celestial sources, some of which an international collaboration has gathered in the large, infrequently disturbed collection area of the Atacama.

Outlying sights

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Holidays and festivals in San Pedro de Atacama

Template:Unreferenced section The festivals includes typical dances, masses in the street and a little parade through the main street of San Pedro de Atacama.<ref name="letsgochile.com"/>

  • June 28 - Saint Peter
  • June 29 - Saint Paul
  • Feb 2 - Virgin de la Candelaria

See also

References

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