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ANTOFAGASTA

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Originally appearing in Volume V02, Page 148 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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ANTOFAGASTA , a See also:

town and See also:port of See also:northern See also:Chile and See also:capital of the Chilean See also:province of the same name, situated about 768 m. N. of See also:Valparaiso in 23° 38' 39" S. See also:lat. and 7o° 24' 39" W. See also:long. Pop. (est. 1902) 16,084. Antofagasta is the seaport for a railway See also:running to See also:Oruro, See also:Bolivia, and is the only available outlet for the See also:trade of the See also:south-western departments of that See also:republic. The smelting See also:works for the neighbouring See also:silver mines are located here, and a thriving trade with the inland See also:mining towns is carried on. The town was founded in 1870 as a See also:shipping port for the recently discovered silver mines of that vicinity, and belonged to Bolivia until 1879, when it was occupied by a Chilean military force. The province of ANTOFAGASTA has an See also:area of 46,611 sq. m. lying within the See also:desert of See also:Atacama and between the provinces of See also:Tarapaca and Atacama. It is See also:rich in saline and other See also:mineral deposits, the important Caracoles silver mines being about 90 M. See also:north-See also:east of the port of Antofagasta. Like the other provinces of this region, Antofagasta produces for export See also:copper, silver, silver ores, See also:lead, nitrate of soda, See also:borax and See also:salt. See also:Iron and See also:manganese ores are also found.

Besides Antofagasta the See also:

principal towns are Taltal, Mejillones, See also:Cobija (the old capital) and Tocopilla. Up to 1879 the province belonged to Bolivia, and was known as the See also:department of Atacama, or the Litoral.

End of Article: ANTOFAGASTA

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