Caldera (Chile) 6.37

Caldera is a port city and commune in the Copiapó Province of the Atacama Region in northern Chile. It has an excellent harbor, protected by breakwaters, being the port city for the productive mining district centering on Copiapó to which it is connected by the first railroad constructed in Chile.Geography and climateCaldera lies about 75km west of Copiapó at the Pacific. The climate is mostly warm and extremely dry, because of its location on the Atacama desert's coast. But the temperatures are moderated by the cooling sea currents. However, lately the climate has become colder due to the climatic change. The commune spans an area of 4666.6sqkm.HistoryIn 1687, Englishman Edward Davis reached the Playa Bahia Inglesa 6km south of Caldera. In 1840, William Wheelwright of the Pacific Steam Navigation Company visited the region of Caldera. On his proposal the first railway was created in the year of 1851 from Caldera to Copiapó. Its inauguration was on Christmas Day in 1851. Caldera became an important port for the exportation of minerals. The city itself was officially founded on 23 September 1850.The city has been struck by earthquakes and tsunamis several times the major ones being that of 1868, 1877 and 1922. During the 1891 Chilean Civil War, Caldera Bay outside the city became the site of the Battle of Caldera Bay where torpedo boats loyal to Manuel Balmaceda sunk the rebel ironclad Blanco Encalada.