The Humboldt Coast

Map of The Humboldt Coast

Geography of The Humboldt Coast

In northern Chile and along the Peruvian coast, desert is the predominant environment. The Humboldt Current originates in Antarctica and is therefore much colder than most waters in the Pacific, which inhibits evaporation and ensures the region remains dry. In Peru, this desert is known as the Sechura Desert; although dry, it holds more than 50% of the country’s population, mainly centered around port cities such as Lima and Trujillo. In Chile, the coastal desert is considered an extension of the Atacama. This is not to say, however, that the desert is lifeless. Oceanic air masses rain out their moisture over the Andes, which rise to almost seven thousand meters in northern Chile and Peru, with most of it falling as snow on the highest peaks. During summer, the ice and snow slowly melt, producing small but vital rivers which flow through the desert and supply major cities such as Lima, Arica and Antofagasta. Along these river valleys, the desert blooms in green strips where warm, stable temperatures allow up to three crops per year. The mountains are also vital to the economies of both countries – Chile alone produces almost a quarter of the global copper supply.

The Cradle of the Inca – the History of The Humboldt Coast

Evidence of sophisticated human cultures in this region dates far back into prehistory. Groups such as the Chinchorro flourished along these coasts as far back as 9,000 years ago, leaving behind their carefully mummified loved ones, while the Caral-Supe civilization flourished from around 2500 BC, around the same time as civilizations in Egypt and Mesopotamia. A bewildering array of sophisticated cultures followed, including the Moche, the Wari and the Tiwanaku.

In the 12th century, a tribe claiming the mandate of the Sun God carved out a city-state in Cusco. These were the Inca, rulers of Tawantinsuyu (‘The Land of Four Parts’), the largest polity in the pre-Columbian Americas, stretching from Ecuador to Santiago de Chile at its height in the late 1400s. By the 1530s, the empire was embroiled in a brutal succession war when Francisco Pizarro and his small group of 168 conquistadors arrived. At Cajamarca, the Sapa Inca (Emperor) Atahualpa was captured and an extortionate ransom paid, after which the Spanish broke their word and executed him.

Governed from the port city of Lima, capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru, the region remained under Spanish rule until Argentine liberator José de San Martín declared Peruvian independence in 1821, with Spanish rule finally ending at the Battle of Ayacucho in 1824. Almost immediately, the new South American states fell to warring among themselves – most notably in the War of the Pacific (1879–1884), in which Chile captured Bolivia’s coastline, cutting the country off from the ocean. Access to the Pacific remains a contentious topic in Bolivia to this day.