Copiapo

is the capital of the III Region of Atacama and of the province of Copiapó, in Chile. It was founded on December 8, 1744 by the governor Jose Manso de Valasco. The town was christened San Francisco de la Selva de Copiapó or Saint Francis of the Jungle of Copiapó, due to its lush vegetation. Previous to Spanish occupation, the area was inhabited by the diaguita peoples under the rule of the Inca Empire. The earliest archaeological remains of human activity in the Copiapó valley have been dated at ten thousand years BP.