Desert towns

Further and further north along the coast - in Chile´s Norte Grande we are well and truly into the Atacama desert... No more grass, no more plants, the desert is so dry that nothing, and I mean NOTHING, lives here. Not even cactus.

Welcome to the Atacama desert.

Iquique sits on the coast at the base of a massive dune.

Despite the appearance of empty land, there is something of value in the area - enormous mineral and metal deposits that Chile has been using to fuel their economic boom. Copper mines, borax mines, and the abandoned nitrate mines dot the landscape. The nitrate industry was huge at the beginning of the century, but has since collapsed, leaving abandoned mines and ghost towns such as Humberstone in the desert inland from the coast. The capital of the region, Iquique, did very well out of the trade while it lasted, but is a little more down at heel now that the good times have finished.

The road past the dune.

The deserted Santa Laura nitrate factory - complete with all the machinery inside.

The view from within.

Rust and sand.

The town square and watchtower at Humberstone - abandoned in 1960.

The school room ready for the next class.

The theatre is now silent (and a little creepy).