“Caleta de Pescadores” in Antofagasta

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Fishing boats at the so-called "Caleta de Pescadores" (fishermen’s small port) in Antofagasta, capital on the II Region of Chile. Antofagasta stretches along about 20 km of a narrow coastal region, demarcated by the Pacific Ocean and the Coastal Mountain Range. With more than 300 000 habitants, Antofagasta is the fifth-largest city of Chile, and the mining capital of the country. Furthermore, the Antofagasta Region is home to the world’s largest ground-based astronomical observatories. The ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT), on Cerro Paranal is located some 120 km south of Antofagasta, on the Coastal Mountain Range. The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is currently under construction on the 5000-metre-high Chajnantor Plateau, in the Andes close to San Pedro de Atacama. And Cerro Armazones, the selected site for the planned European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT), is located about 20 km away from Cerro Paranal. The E-ELT will be the world’s biggest eye on the sky.

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