Abandoned villages in the Atacama Desert, Chile

Puquios: p. 1 - p. 2 - p. 3 - p. 4  - Railroad -  Sofía Mine

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The ruins of Puquios:

We will get to The Puquios' ruins (Region of Atacama, Chile) in the pre-Cordillera range, some 60 km east of Copiapó. Puquios was a mining town with more than 5000 inhabitants, a railway station, and some well-built houses. From the 1930s onwards, the miners left this site. Today we see the remains of houses, industrial plants, and the cemetery [here].

The inhabitants built the houses mainly with adobe bricks, and we can still imagine the last century's design. Puquios was connected to the railway of Caldera - Copiapó [here]. Its location near mining sectors such as Dulcinea and Tres Puntas ensured a specific development. Guillermo Wheelwright projected from Puquios a railway line to Argentina. The fall of mining at the turn of the century, financing problems, and topographical difficulties did not allow this project.
According to Espinoza (1895), 626 people live in Puquios in the same year of the publication.


See also "Snow in Puquios and Quebrada Paipote". [here]
Location (UTM): 411969E / 6995828 N
datum prov. South America 1956

Place: Ruins of Puquios, Atacama Region
Atacama Region, Chile
Province of Copiapó
Commune of Copiapó
Location: UTM: 411.969E / 69.95.828 N (Datum prov. SudAm. 1956)
Population: 0
Height: 1248 m
Distance to Copiapó: 57,5 km