a railway station of the Antofagasta-Bolivia Railway, which further expedited shipments through Calama. Geography and climate Calama has two distinct entities: the desert and the Andes Mountain Range. Between , the desert climate (BWk) is characterized by annual precipitation that does not surpass . The average temperature is throughout the year with drastic changes between average daily highs of over and average daily lows below in winter and record highs of over in summer. Light easterly winds are common in the mornings with strong westerly winds in the afternoon. It is believed to be the third sunniest place in the world. Orography The western boundary of the town of Calama is marked by the peaks of the foothills, which occurs north of Calama in the foothills of the Loa River, which has many names, from north to south: Sierra Moreno, Cerros Chuquicamata Cerros de Montecristo. The Cerro Poquis (4,589 m), is the maximum altitude, north of Chuquicamata. South of it begin the foothills of the Cordillera de Domeyko, which in turn serve to chart the southern boundary of the district, with the names of Sierra de Limón Verde and Cordon Barros Arana. The passage of Loa river from east to west leaves a plain, in which the city of Calama and the oasis is located. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Calama has an area of and has 138,402 inhabitants (70,832 men and 67,570 women). Of these, 136,600 (98.7%) lived in urban areas and 1,802 (1.3%) in rural areas. The population grew by 3.6% (16,595 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses. Administration As a commune, Calama is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Esteban Velásquez Núñez. Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Calama is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Marcos Espinosa (PRSD) and Felipe Ward (UDI) as part of the 3rd electoral district, (together with Tocopilla, María Elena, Ollagüe and San Pedro de Atacama). The commune is represented in the Senate by Carlos Cantero Ojeda (Ind.) and José Antonio Gómez Urrutia (PRSD) as part of the 2nd senatorial constituency (Antofagasta Region). Transportation Calama is served by the El Loa Airport. References External links Municipality of Calama Communes of Chile Populated places in El Loa Province Capitals of Chilean provinces