Archaeological Capital: The town of San Pedro de Atacama is considered the archaeological capital of Chile, as the Archaeological Research Institute and RP Gustavo Le Paige Museum in San Pedro houses the world's largest collection of archaeological artifacts from a single ethnic group. This is due to the extreme aridity of the Atacama Desert, which allowed the artifacts belonging to the ancestors of the AtacameƱo people to remain almost intact for thousands of years. The collection comprises 380,000 pieces, including a wide array of artifacts, mummified bodies from various periods, gold pieces, and artifacts from the Tiwanaku and Inca cultures, among others.
From 1960 and for two decades, Jesuit priest Gustavo Le Paige, parish priest of the Church of San Pedro de Atacama, and his collaborators dedicated themselves to collecting the archaeological artifacts that are now the heritage of the Atacama people and are jointly managed with the Universidad del Norte, based in the city of Antofagasta. Currently, these pieces are stored in the Gustavo Le Paige Archaeological Museum in San Pedro de Atacama, where a selection of this vast archaeological, historical, and cultural heritage from this region of the Atacama Desert can be viewed in a display case.
Astronomical Capital: The second region of Chile, where San Pedro de Atacama is located, boasts some of the clearest skies in the world and will soon be the country with the largest installed astronomical capacity globally. The astronomical centers are located in the Atacama Astronomical Park, 50 km from San Pedro de Atacama on the Chajnantor Plateau at 5,000 meters above sea level. This park is home to the world's largest radio telescope (pictured), the ALMA Project, belonging to the European Southern Observatory (ESO).
On the other hand, near the coast, 120 km southeast of the city of Antofagasta in the so-called Valley of the Photons, is the largest optical telescope in the world, on the Paranal hill.
These astronomical projects, the largest of their kind in the world, are the result of international agreements signed in 1964 between the Chilean government and the European Southern Observatory (ESO) to establish observatories on Chilean territory. This followed an evaluation by the ESO of various countries and territories as potential locations for observatories, enabling the investigation of parts of the universe not visible from the Northern Hemisphere. Chile was ultimately chosen due to the extreme aridity of the Atacama Desert, its geographical characteristics including high altitudes, the country's technological advancements, and its relatively stable social and economic environment.
Mining Capital: Chile is the world's leading copper producer, the second-largest lithium producer after Australia, and for three decades around 1900 was the world's top producer of saltpeter. Currently, eight of the world's 20 largest copper mines are located in this region. As such, it possesses some of the best mining technology and experience globally. While copper mining in Chuquicamata and other mines likely has a history spanning millennia, large-scale mining only began in 1915 with the Chuquicamata copper mine, owned by the Guggenheim family of New York.
It is from that moment that the economic scene of the Loa province (Calama and surroundings) begins to gravitate exclusively around copper extraction, transforming the lives of its population in general and its environment, generating great economic well-being for thousands of families and also considerable environmental impacts as well.