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Copiapó is a city in the little North of Chile in the region of Atacama (III) and capital of a province of the same name. Copiapó is located at , near the port city of Caldera, Chile. Copiapó; in 1903, 9,128; and in 1907, 11,617. As of 2002, it has 141.979 inhabitants. Copiapo lies about 800 km north of Santiago by the Copiapó river in the Copiapó valley. In recent years the river has dried up due to mining activity in the region. It is surrounded by the Atacama desert and receives little rain (12 mm/year).
Copaipó was founded on December 8 of 1744 by Sir Francisco Cortez y Cartabio y Roldán. In that era, the area was lush with vegitation, and the town was christened San Francisco de la Selva, Saint Francis of the Jungle. The area was known as an oasis in the desert of Atacama.
Copiapó is in a rich silver and copper mining district. It possesses a bronze statue of Juan Godoy, the discoveror of the Chañarcillo silver mines.
The Copiapó-Caldera railway line, built in 1854, was the first in South America. The original wooden railway station is now a national monument.
The Universidad de Atacama is located in Copiapó.
Since the return to Democracy (1990), the mayors elected in Copiapó have been Mónica Calcutta Stormenzan (1992-1996) and Marcos López Rivera (1996-present).
"Copiapó"