Located 230 km south of Antofagasta, Taltal is a district of great historical, archaeological, ecological, and gastronomic value, which economic activity is linked to mining and the extraction of marine products.
The presence of man in Taltal since pre-Hispanic times has been found. One of the largest discoveries recently made is the mining of ferric oxide at the San Ramón mine located north of Taltal. This work was carried out by the inhabitants of the Huentelauquén culture that inhabited its surroundings more than 12,000 years ago, constituting the oldest mining exploitation in Chile and America and one of the oldest in the world known to date.
Taltal was founded on July 12, 1858, as an effect of Supreme Decree No. 91 signed by Manuel Montt Torres, the former president of Chile, to use the town as a port. Then he discovered the canton of Aguas Blancas to the east of Caleta El Cobre, but he maintained the priority in the extraction of Copper, highlighting among his findings Caleta El Cobre, Canchas, Gentil, Matancillas.
Currently the city seeks to strengthen itself as a pole of tourist attraction, taking advantage of the infrastructure of its nearby beaches and coves to be able to receive, in the best conditions, the tourists who come to stay or the people who are passing through the place.