Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Chile covers an area of 756,096 square kilometers (291,930 sq mi), with a population of 17.5 million as of 2017. It shares land borders with Peru to the north, Bolivia to the north-east, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far south. Chile also controls the Pacific islands of Juan Fernández, Isla Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas, and Easter Island in Oceania. It also claims about 1,250,000 square kilometers (480,000 sq mi) of Antarctica under the Chilean Antarctic Territory. The country's capital and largest city is Santiago, and its national language is Spanish.
Iquique Province is one of two provinces in the northern Chilean region of Tarapacá. Its capital is the port city of Iquique.
Putre is a Chilean town and commune, capital of the Parinacota Province in the Arica-Parinacota Region. It is located 130 km (81 mi) east of Arica, at an altitude of 3,500 m (11,483 ft). The town is backdropped by Taapaca volcanic complex.
Maipú is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region, integrated into the Greater Santiago conurbation. It was founded on February 16, 1821 and it is the place of the Battle of Maipú, where Chile's independence was consolidated. Inhabitants are mostly part of a middle class.
Curicó, meaning "Black Waters" in Mapudungun, is the capital city of the Curicó Province, part of the Maule Region in Chile's central valley.
Huara is a Chilean town and commune in Tamarugal Province, Tarapacá Region. It is located 45 km (28 mi) or northeast of Iquique. The village is crossed by the Pan-American Highway and is the crossing point for the road that goes to Oruro in Bolivia. This road also serves as access to the Atacama Giant site and the Volcán Isluga National Park.
DalcahueSpanish pronunciation: [dalˈkawe] is a port city and a commune in Chiloé Province, on Chiloé Island, Los Lagos Region, Chile.
Pica is a Chilean town and commune in Tamarugal Province, Tarapacá Region. Situated in the inland of the Atacama Desert on an oasis, Pica is famous for its small and unusually acidic limes known as Limón de Pica. The town has a communal hot spring with a surface temperature of 40 °C, which makes it a popular bath place in the middle of the desert. It has hotels and all basic services. The town lies four kilometers to the northeast of the oasis village of Matilla.
Tiltil or Til-Til is a Chilean municipality and city, in the Chacabuco Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. Tiltil is most known for being an execution place for rebels during Chile's independence war against Spain. Manuel Rodríguez was executed in Tiltil.
Lolol is a Chilean commune and town in Colchagua Province, O'Higgins Region.
El Ranco Province is one of two provinces of the southern Chilean region of Los Ríos. It is named after Ranco Lake shared by the communes (comunas) of Futrono and Lago Ranco. The lake is drained by the Bueno River, on which basin lies most of the province. La Unión is the provincial capital.
Panquehue is a Chilean town and commune in San Felipe de Aconcagua Province, Valparaíso Region.
Chañaral Province is one of three provinces in the northern Chilean region of Atacama (III). Its capital is the small coastal town of Chañaral.
The Atacama Desert is a desert plateau in South America covering a 1,600 km (990 mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes Mountains. The Atacama Desert is the driest nonpolar desert in the world, and the second driest overall, just behind some very specific spots within the McMurdo Dry Valleys as well as the only hot true desert to receive less precipitation than the polar deserts, and the largest fog desert in the world. Both regions have been used as experimentation sites on Earth for Mars expedition simulations. The Atacama Desert occupies 105,000 km2 (41,000 sq mi), or 128,000 km2 (49,000 sq mi) if the barren lower slopes of the Andes are included. Most of the desert is composed of stony terrain, salt lakes (salares), sand, and felsic lava that flows towards the Andes.
Puquios are ancient systems of subterranean aqueducts which allow water to be transported over long distances in hot dry climates without loss of much of the water to evaporation. Puquios are found in the coastal deserts of southern Peru, especially in the Nazca region, and northern Chile. Forty-three puquios in the Nazca region were still in use in the early 21st century and relied upon to bring fresh water for irrigation and domestic use into desert settlements. The origin and dating of the Nazca puquios is disputed, although some archaeologists have estimated that their construction began about 500 CE by indigenous people of the Nazca culture.
Matilla is a Chilean village and oasis in the interior of Atacama Desert. It lies four kilometers southwest of the oasis town of Pica. As of 2017 Matilla had 380 inhabitants and 217 homes. It host underground aqueducts in various states of decay. These aqueducts are locally known as socavones and tap Pica Aquifer.
Pica Aquifer located in Tarapacá Region of northern Chile is one of the most important aquifers of Atacama Desert. The water of the aquifer is tapped by a system of underground aqueducts known as puquios to irrigate the oases of Pica and Matilla. The uppermost part of the aquifer is within loosely consolidated alluvial and aeolian sediments deposited in the Quaternary period. The recharge zone of Pica Aquifer is estimated to lie between ~3,000 and 4,000 meters above sea level.
Puquio de Núñez is a small oasis and orchard in the Atacama Desert of Chile. The oasis is irrigated by an underground canal, a puquio tapping Pampa del Tamarugal Aquifer. Puqui de Núñez lies about 10 kilometers south of the nearby oases of Matilla and Pica. As the puquios of Pica and Matilla tap the Pica Aquifer, it is thought that the hydraulic divide between the aquifers of Pampa del Tamarugal and Pica should be between Puquio de Núñez and Matilla.
Pampa del Tamarugal Aquifer located in Tarapacá Region of northern Chile is one of the most important aquifers of Atacama Desert.
La Calera is a small oasis and orchard in the Atacama Desert of Chile. The oasis is irrigated by an underground canal, a puquio tapping an aquifer. Located at 1,390 meters above sea level La Calera lies about 15 kilometers north of the larger oasis of Pica.
