Copiapó
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Copiapó is the capital of the III Region of Atacama in Chile and was founded on December 8, 1744 by the governor Jose Manso de Valasco.
The town was christened San Francisco de la Selva de Copiapó or Saint Francis of the Jungle of Copiapó, due to the lush vegetation. Previous to Spanish occupation, the area was inhabited by the diaguita peoples under the rule of the Inca Empire. The earliest archaeologial remains of human activity in the Copaipó valley have been dated at ten thousand years BP.
Copiapó is located at , near the port city of Caldera, Chile. The population of Copiapó was 9,128 in 1903ñ 11,617 in 1907 and as of 2002, there are 141,979 inhabitants. Copiapo lies about 800 km north of Santiago by the Copiapó river in the valley of the same name. In recent years the river has dried up due to mining and agricultural activity in the region. The town is surrounded by the Atacama desert and receives little rain (12 mm/year).
Copiapó is in a rich silver and copper mining district. It possesses a bronze statue of Juan Godoy, the discoveror of the Chañarcillo silver mines.
The Copiapó-Caldera railway line, built in 1854, was the one of the first in South America. The original wooden railway station is now a national monument.
The Universidad de Atacama is located in Copiapó.
Since the return to Democracy (1990), the mayors elected in Copiapó have been Mónica Calcutta Stormenzan (1992-1996) and Marcos López Rivera (1996-present).
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