Atacama Province (Spanish: Provinicia de Atacama) was one of the administrative divisions of Chile from 1843 to 1976. The capital was Copiapó.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Provincia_de_Atacama-1895.jpg/200px-Provincia_de_Atacama-1895.jpg)
It was established on 31 October 1843 with its territory being carved out of the Province of Coquimbo.[1] It was created as consequence of the Chilean silver rush that begun in 1832 in Chañarcillo.[1] The initial departments were Copiapó, Freirina, Vallenar. It was disestablished in 1976, becoming a part of the Atacama Region.
References
edit- ^ a b Cortés Lutz, Guillermo (2017). Chañarcillo, cuando de las montañas brotó la plata (PDF). Cuadernos de Historia (in Spanish). Vol. II. Museo Regional de Atacama. p. 16.