Copiapó

Copiapó, in northern Chile's Atacama Desert, holds a pair of South American firsts: the Copiapó-Caldera railway, inaugurated in 1850, was the continent's first, and the region's grape and raisin exports were among Chile's earliest. Founded in 1744 as San Francisco de la Selva — Saint Francis of the Jungle — the city sits in an oasis valley long tied to silver and copper mining, with a bronze statue commemorating Juan Godoy, discoverer of the 19th-century Chañarcillo silver mines. The original wooden railway station is now a National Monument.

• Population129,280
• Nearest water from center0.5 km
• Nearest mountain from center1.3 km