Antofagasta

Antofagasta, city in northern Chile, capital of Antofagasta Province. Settled in 1870, it grew rapidly with the mining of rich deposits of nitrates from the adjacent Atacama Desert. Copper and nitrates are the principal exports; numerous other metals, including silver, lead, zinc, and tungsten, are also mined. The city has the only protected harbor on the Pacific coastline of northern Chile. It is a shipping center for domestic goods and for the products of landlocked Bolivia, to which it is linked by major rail and highway routes. Population (2006 estimate) 341,942.