San Pedro de Atacama

Coordinates: 22°55′S 68°12′W / 22.917°S 68.200°W / -22.917; -68.200
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
San Pedro de Atacama
Town and Commune
San Pedro de Atacama at the edge of the Salar de Atacama
San Pedro de Atacama at the edge of the Salar de Atacama


Coat of arms
Coat of arms
Map of San Pedro de Atacama commune in Antofagasta Region
Map of San Pedro de Atacama commune in Antofagasta Region
UTC-3 (CLST[2])
Area code(+56) 5
WebsiteMunicipalidad San Pedro de Atacama

San Pedro de Atacama is a

pre-Columbian
cultures.

History

San Pedro de Atacama grew, over centuries, around an

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.[3]

It was part of Bolivia since independence from Spain until Chile claimed ownership during the War of the Pacific. During that war, the Battle of Río Grande was fought in the surroundings.

Demographics

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.[1]

Administration

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.

Within the

Ind.
) as part of the second senatorial constituency (Antofagasta Region).

Climate

The town lies at an average of 8,000 feet (2,400 m), thus visitors often experience mild altitude sickness such as dizziness, lethargy and headaches.[4] The local climate is extremely dry and mild, with daytime temperatures between 25–30 degrees Celsius (77–86 degrees Fahrenheit) in the summer (December to February) and 18–25 °C (64–77 °F) in the winter (June to August). Nighttime temperatures routinely drop below 0 °C (32 °F) and can reach as low as −10 °C (14 °F) in the winter. The record high temperature of 38.3 °C (100.9 °F) was registered on January, 2024 in San Pedro de Atacama.[5]

isotherm
of the mean yearly temperature of lower than 18 °C (64 °F).

Climate data for San Pedro de Atacama
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 28.0
(82.4) 		28.0
(82.4) 		27.0
(80.6) 		25.0
(77.0) 		21.8
(71.2) 		18.9
(66.0) 		19.3
(66.7) 		21.5
(70.7) 		23.4
(74.1) 		25.7
(78.3) 		27.3
(81.1) 		28.0
(82.4) 		24.5
(76.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 8.8
(47.8) 		9.4
(48.9) 		7.9
(46.2) 		5.1
(41.2) 		1.9
(35.4) 		−0.5
(31.1) 		−0.8
(30.6) 		0.9
(33.6) 		2.7
(36.9) 		4.4
(39.9) 		5.8
(42.4) 		7.3
(45.1) 		4.4
(39.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 4
(0.2) 		21
(0.8) 		7
(0.3) 		0
(0) 		1
(0.0) 		2
(0.1) 		0
(0) 		1
(0.0) 		1
(0.0) 		0
(0) 		1
(0.0) 		0
(0) 		38
(1.5)
Average
relative humidity
(%) 		28 38 31 23 22 20 18 14 13 13 17 22 22
Source: Atlas Agroclimatico de Chile (temperatures 1958–1989, precipitation 1960–2015, humidity 2011–2015)[7]

Transportation

San Pedro lies on the main paved road from

Santiago and buses on 6 days a week to Salta across the Andes in Argentina. Nearby airports are San Pedro de Atacama Airport and Salar de Atacama Airport for private aircraft, and the larger El Loa Airport
/Calama 100 km away for scheduled aircraft.

Tourism

San Pedro de Atacama is a popular tourist destination.[8] There are various activities for adventurers in the San Pedro de Atacama area: trekking, climbing, archaeological sightings, amateur astronomy, exploration tours in natural landscapes and even sand boarding in the desert. Because of its altitude, a brief period of acclimatization may be required.

Sights in town

In the town are some cultural and scientific sites:

  • R. P. Gustavo Le Paige Archaeological Museum, displaying ceramics and pottery crafts from the first inhabitants of the area.
  • Church of San Pedro de Atacama a National Monument, built with adobe, a building material used in the colonial times.
  • Meteorite Museum displays and explains meteorites of various compositions, from various celestial sources, some of which an international collaboration has gathered in the large, infrequently disturbed collection area of the Atacama.

Outlying sights

Holidays and festivals in San Pedro de Atacama

The festivals includes typical dances, masses in the street and a little parade through the main street of San Pedro de Atacama.[3]

  • June 28 - Saint Peter
  • June 29 - Saint Paul
  • Feb 2 - Virgin de la Candelaria

Image gallery

  • Street view of San Pedro de Atacama
    Street view of San Pedro de Atacama
  • San Pedro de Atacama Church
    San Pedro de Atacama Church
  • Licancabur volcano viewed from San Pedro de Atacama
    Licancabur volcano viewed from San Pedro de Atacama
  • Llamas in the sunset near San Pedro de Atacama
    Llamas in the sunset near San Pedro de Atacama
  • Part of the Chaxas lagoon in the Salar de Atacama.
    Part of the Chaxas lagoon in the Salar de Atacama.
  • Rainbow Valley.
    Rainbow Valley.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "National Statistics Institute" (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  2. ^ Acuña, Patricia (January 28, 2015). ""Horario de verano" se mantendrá durante todo el año en Chile". biobiochile.cl.
  3. ^ a b "San Pedro de Atacama". Letsgochile.com.
  4. ^ Cymerman, A; Rock, PB. "Medical Problems in High Mountain Environments. A Handbook for Medical Officers". USARIEM-TN94-2. US Army Research Inst. of Environmental Medicine Thermal and Mountain Medicine Division Technical Report. Archived from the original on April 23, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-05. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ^ "Extreme temperatures around the world". mherrera.org. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  6. ^ "Climate: San Pedro de Atacama - Climate graph, Temperature graph, Climate table". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
  7. ^ "Atlas Agroclimático de Chile–Estado Actual y Tendencias del Clima (Tomo I: Regiones de Arica Y Parinacota, Tarapacá y Antofagasta" (in Spanish). Universidad de Chile. 2017. pp. 136–146. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  8. doi:10.3917/mouv.076.0013 – via Cairn.info
    .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to San Pedro de Atacama (city).
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for San Pedro de Atacama.
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