The Antofagasta Region is one of Chile's sixteen first-order administrative divisions. The second-largest region of Chile in area, it comprises three provinces, Antofagasta, El Loa and Tocopilla. It is bordered to the north by Tarapacá, by Atacama to the south, and to the east by Bolivia and Argentina. The region's capital is the port city of Antofagasta; another one of its important cities is Calama. The region's main economic activity is copper mining in its giant inland porphyry copper systems.
El Tatio is a geothermal field with many geysers located in the Andes Mountains of northern Chile at 4,320 metres (14,170 ft) above mean sea level. It is the third-largest geyser field in the world and the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. Various meanings have been proposed for the name "El Tatio", including "oven" or "grandfather". The geothermal field has many geysers, hot springs, and associated sinter deposits. These hot springs eventually form the Rio Salado, a major tributary of the Rio Loa, and are a major source of arsenic pollution in the river. The vents are sites of populations of extremophile microorganisms such as hyperthermophiles, and El Tatio has been studied as an analogue for the early Earth and possible past life on Mars.
Calama is a city and commune in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. It is the capital of El Loa Province, part of the Antofagasta Region. Calama is one of the driest cities in the world with average annual precipitation of just 5 mm (0.20 in). The River Loa, Chile's longest, flows through the city. Calama has a population of 147,886.
Nevado Ojos del Salado is a dormant complex volcano in the Andes on the Argentina–Chile border. It is the highest volcano on Earth and the highest peak in Chile. The upper reaches of Ojos del Salado consist of several overlapping lava domes, lava flows and volcanic craters, with sparse ice cover. The complex extends over an area of 70–160 square kilometres (27–62 sq mi) and its highest summit reaches an altitude of 6,893 metres (22,615 ft) above sea level. Numerous other volcanoes rise around Ojos del Salado.
The Biobío River is the second largest river in Chile. It originates from Icalma and Galletué lakes in the Andes and flows 380 km to the Gulf of Arauco on the Pacific Ocean.
The Loa River is a U-shaped river in Chile's northern Antofagasta Region. At 440 km (270 mi) long, it is the country's longest river and the main watercourse in the Atacama Desert.
Paniri is a stratovolcano located in El Loa Province, Antofagasta Region, Chile, and near the border with Bolivia. To its northwest lie the twin volcanoes San Pedro and San Pablo, and to its southeast lies Cerro del León, from which it is separated by the huge Chao lava dome.
San Pedro de Inacaliri River, or called simply San Pedro River, is a river of Chile located in El Loa Province, Antofagasta Region. It begins at the confluence of the rivers Silala and Cajón, at an elevation over 4,000 m asl.
Miño Volcano is a symmetrical cone-shaped stratovolcano located in El Loa Province, Antofagasta Region, Chile. It lies a few kilometres northwest of Aucanquilcha volcano and at its foot originates Loa River. The major settlement in its vicinity is Ollagüe. The volcano has erupted mafic andesite. Potassium-argon dating has yielded ages of 3.59±0.11 and 3.27±0.40 million years ago for Miño. This volcano is usually considered part of Aucanquilcha, and lava flows appear to originate from the summit.
Cerro del León is a stratovolcano located in El Loa province, Antofagasta Region, Chile. It is part of the Chilean Central Volcanic Zone and forms a volcanic lineament with neighbouring Paniri and Toconce that was active into the Holocene. Cerro del León itself was constructed in three stages by andesitic–dacitic lava flows and was subject to glacial erosion.
Volcán Linzor is a stratovolcano on the border between Bolivia and Chile. In its vicinity lie Laguna Colorada and Cerro del León.
Caspana is a Chilean village located 85 km northeast of the city of Calama, in the gorge carved by the river that shared its name and that is a tributary of the Salado River. Agricultural terraces form part of the landscape of the area. Its church dates from the 17th century.
San Francisco de Chiu Chiu, or simply Chiu Chiu, is a village located about 30 km (19 mi) northeast of the city of Calama, in El Loa Province of Chile's northern Antofagasta Region. It lies at an elevation of 2,525 m (8,284 ft) above sea level, close to the confluence of the Loa and Salado rivers.
Ayquina is a village located on the northern flank of Salado River Canyon in the Calama commune of the El Loa Province in Chile's Antofagasta Region. It sits at an elevation of 2,980 m (9,777 ft) above sea level. The festival of Our Lady of Guadalupe of Ayquina is the most important religious festival in the area.
Toconce is a small Chilean village located on the south rim of the Toconce River Canyon at 3,350 m above sea level. To the north, the landscape is dominated by the volcanoes Cerro Paniri, Cerro del León and Toconce.
The Department of the Litoral, also known as the Atacama Department and commonly known as the Bolivian coast, was the description of the extent of the Pacific coast of the Atacama Desert included in the territory of Bolivia from its inception in 1825 until 1879, when it was lost to Chile.
The Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1904 between Chile and Bolivia was signed in Santiago de Chile on October 20, 1904, to delineate the boundary through 96 specified points between Cerro Zapaleri and Cerro Chipe and to regulate the relations between the two countries 20 years after the end of the War of the Pacific.
Alto Loa National Reserve is a Protected Area located in the province of El Loa, Antofagasta region, Chile. Announced in 2002 and created in 2005, it is Chile's largest natural reserve.
The Iglesia de Caspana is a Catholic church located in the locality of Caspana, in Calama, Antofagasta Region, Chile. Built in the 17th century, it was declared a Historic Monument, on July 6, 1951.
