Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works, Industrial refinery in Tarapacá Region, Chile

Humberstone and Santa Laura are two former saltpeter refineries in the Atacama Desert, 48.1 km east of Iquique. Humberstone's central buildings, including its theater, church and pulpería, are made wholly or partly of imported Oregon pine, while Santa Laura is dominated by a tall chimney and an Oregon pine and iron processing plant called la máquina, where the cachuchos stood.

Santa Laura was founded in 1872 by Guillermo Wendell's nitrate company while La Palma was founded the same year under James Thomas Humberstone. COSATAN bought both in 1934 and renamed La Palma as Santiago Humberstone. Humberstone was abandoned in 1960 and Santa Laura in 1961.

Workers and their families built a self-contained society in the desert, establishing schools, theaters and churches that brought European urban planning concepts to one of Earth's driest regions.

The two works lie 48.1 km east of Iquique, in the Pozo Almonte commune; the journey crosses the Atacama Desert, so bring water, a hat and sun protection. Humberstone and Santa Laura stand apart and are visited on foot, with the tall chimney of Santa Laura serving as a landmark.

The site's name honors James Thomas Humberstone, who introduced the Shanks extraction system; COSATAN renamed La Palma after him in 1934. The company store, theater and church were built partly of imported Oregon pine.