Humberstone, Chile, Abandoned saltpeter mining town in Atacama Desert, northern Chile.
Description
Humberstone stands as a preserved industrial settlement in the Atacama Desert, featuring worker housing, administrative buildings, processing facilities, and community spaces that showcase early 20th-century mining town infrastructure.
History
Founded in the 1870s during Chile's nitrate boom, the town reached its peak around 1910 producing over three million tons annually before declining with synthetic fertilizer development and closing permanently in 1960.
Culture
The town represents a multicultural community where European and South American workers lived together, using company tokens called fichas for purchases while enjoying theaters, schools, and sports facilities within the controlled settlement.
Practical
Located 29 miles (47 kilometers) east of Iquique along Route 5, the site welcomes visitors from 9 am to 7 pm with marked pathways, informational panels, and a small museum documenting saltpeter mining history.
Did you know?
The settlement preserves rows of brightly painted worker houses, rusted extraction machinery, and original classroom furnishings that remain undisturbed since the 1960s abandonment, earning UNESCO World Heritage Site designation in 2005.
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