Norte Chico
Norte Chico
Norte Chico, the region of transverse valleys created by numerous streams—Copiapó, Huasco, Elqui, Limarí, Choapa, Petorca, and Aconcagua—north of Chile's Central Valley, between 27 and 33 degrees south latitude. It is a transitional region in terms of climate and economic activities: the aridity of the Norte Grande gives way to increased winter rains toward the south, and mining is gradually replaced by agriculture as the focus of activity. The silver of Chañarcillo, copper of Potrerillos and Río Blanco, iron of El Tofo and Romeral, cement of Juan Soldado and La Calera are the region's main mineral resources. In the Elqui and Huasco valleys grow the choicest grapes, which together with pisco, the Chileans' favorite brandy, count among the region's most valuable exports. The major centers are Copiapó, the mining capital of Chile during the nineteenth century; Vallenar, an active agricultural town on the Huasco River; La Serena and Coquimbo, two cities at the mouth of the Elqui River that were of great significance in colonial times; and Ovalle. In the twenty-first century, cities such as La Serena have doubled in size owing to the growth from tourism that has attracted visitors to the beach and the clear night skies.
See alsoChile, Geography; Pisco.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Leland Pederson, The Mining Industry of the Norte Chico, Chile (1966).
Roland Paskoff, Le Chili semi-aride (Bordeaux, 1970).
Additional Bibliography
Gallardo Fernández, Gloria L. Communal Land Ownership in Chile: The Agricultural Communities in the Commune of Canela, Norte Chico (1600–1998). Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2002.
Mayo, John, and Simon Collier, eds. Mining in Chile's Norte Chico: Journal of Charles Lambert, 1825–1830. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1998.
Tuozzo, Celina. Efectos sociales de las migraciones internas en Chile: Una experiencia histórica: el Norte Chico a principios del siglo XX. Buenos Aires: La Crujía Ediciones: Instituto Torcuato di Tella, Programa de Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo, 2003.
CÉsar N. Caviedes