Plaza Colón, Square in Antofagasta, Chile

Plaza Colón is the main square of Antofagasta, an urban park shaped like an apple in the central sector of the city, a few blocks from the Pacific Ocean coast. It is framed by a parish temple, the police headquarters and its prison, and the municipal school, and features a central garden with a fountain and trees.

Plaza Colón was the scene of the Chilean disembarkation in Antofagasta on February 14, 1879. In 1880, Governor Luis García Reyes decreed to change its name to Emilio Sotomayor Square.

The square's name, Colón, refers to Christopher Columbus, a name that reflects the Spanish influence in the region. Today, it is a common meeting point for locals, who gather near the central fountain and under the trees.

The square is easy to reach on foot from nearby streets and serves as a useful orientation point in the city center. Visitors can enter from any side, and the flat paths make it accessible for strollers and wheelchairs.

Before it became a square, the site was a ravine with rocky hills, and prisoners were once tasked with removing the rocks to flatten the ground. In 1875, the square received a donation of 35 trees and a fountain from the Valparaíso intendant, Francisco Echaurren.