Chanaral Bay

Chañaral Bay lies on the desert coast of northern Chile, at the mouth of the Río Salado. The steep coastal range and barren hills stand behind an inlet facing the Pacific. Fishing communities lived along this shore long before a mining settlement grew beside the bay. The discovery of copper inland encouraged the foundation of Chañaral de las Ánimas in 1833, linking the anchorage with the mineral country of the Atacama interior.