Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works

Two abandoned refineries sit in the Atacama Desert with corrugated metal buildings, oxidation tanks, processing sheds and company housing clustered around central plazas, all connected by narrow gauge railway tracks.

Operations began in the 1870s when British entrepreneurs exploited Chile's natural sodium nitrate deposits, expanding until the 1940s when synthetic fertilizers diminished demand and both refineries closed by 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.

Tour operators in Iquique provide half-day excursions covering the 28 miles (45 kilometers) to the site, with departures typically at 8 AM and return by early afternoon before desert temperatures peak.

Company engineers rigged the site's first X-ray machine in 1936 for medical use, making this remote desert outpost one of the earliest Chilean locations with radiological diagnostic equipment outside major cities.

Location: Tarapacá Region

Founders: James Thomas Humberstone

Website: http://albumdesierto.cl/ingles/2humber.htm

GPS coordinates: -20.20833,-69.79444

Latest update: December 1, 2025 10:02