Copiapo Bay

Copiapó Bay receives the river of the same name on Chile’s arid northern coast. A sandy barrier and wetland form at the river mouth, where water descending from the Andes meets the Pacific. Indigenous fishing communities had long used this coast, and an anchorage near the mouth served the inland valley. Around the period of Chilean independence, trade passed through the port of Copiapó at this river mouth, later known as Puerto Viejo.