San Pedro de Atacama
| San Pedro de Atacama | |||||
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| Town and Commune | |||||
San Pedro de Atacama at the edge of the Salar de Atacama
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| Coordinates: 22°55′S 68°12′W / 22.917°S 68.200°WCoordinates: 22°55′S 68°12′W / 22.917°S 68.200°W | |||||
| Country |
 Chile
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| Region |
 Antofagasta
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| Province | El Loa | ||||
| Founded | approx. 1450 | ||||
| Government | |||||
| • Type | Municipality | ||||
| • Alcalde | Sandra Berna Martínez (DC) | ||||
| Area | |||||
| • Total | 23,438.8 km2 (9,049.8 sq mi) | ||||
| Elevation | 2,407 m (7,900 ft) | ||||
| Population (2012 Census) | |||||
| • Total | 3,899 | ||||
| • Density | 0.17/km2 (0.43/sq mi) | ||||
| • Urban | 1,938 | ||||
| • Rural | 3,031 | ||||
| Gender | |||||
| • Male | 2,928 | ||||
| • Female | 2,041 | ||||
| Time zone | CLST (UTC-3) | ||||
| Area code(s) | (+56) 5 | ||||
| Website | Municipalidad San Pedro de Atacama | ||||
San Pedro de Atacama is a Chilean town and commune in El Loa Province, Antofagasta Region. It is located east of Antofagasta, some 106 km (60 mi) southeast of Calama and the Chuquicamata copper mine, overlooking the Licancabur volcano. It features a significant archeological museum, the R. P. Gustavo Le Paige Archaeological Museum, with a large collection of relics and artifacts from the region. Native ruins nearby now attract increasing numbers of tourists interested in learning about pre-Columbian cultures.
San Pedro de Atacama grew, over centuries, around an oasis in the Puna de Atacama, an arid high plateau. Its first inhabitants were the Atacameños, who developed basketworks and ceramic pottery crafts that can be now be appreciated by tourists in the several souvenir shops as typical products of San Pedro de Atacama.
It was part of Bolivia since independence until Chile claimed ownership during the War of the Pacific.
According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, San Pedro de Atacama had 4,969 inhabitants (2,928 males and 2,041 females). Of these, 1,938 (39%) lived in urban areas and 3,031 (61%) in rural areas. The population grew by 75.6% (2,140 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.
As a commune, San Pedro de Atacama is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Sandra Berna Martínez.
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Wikipedia