Ckara Ama

The waters of the Loa sustain the oasis of Ckara Ama, or Calama, amid the bare expanses of the Atacama Desert. Fields and wet meadows cluster around the river in a country where rain is scarce. The Atacameño inhabitants cultivated the oasis and maintained connections with the settlements of the highlands and the Pacific coast. For caravans crossing between those worlds, Calama offered a place to replenish supplies before entering the desert again.

Under Spanish rule, the oasis served routes linking the port of Cobija with Potosi and the livestock country around Salta. Its cultivated land acquired new uses: estates grew alfalfa for fodder and provided grazing for animals in transit. Alongside them, indigenous households tended smaller plots and herds, exchanging produce and sometimes working on the larger properties. Calama's place in the desert trade rested as much on these fields and pastures as on the roads that converged beside the Loa.