The capital is Copiapo, on the river of the same name, and which has a port at the mouth of the Copiapo, which is the best on the coast. The city itself is twelve leagues from the sea, the houses being irregularly built, and containing about 400 families, in 26° 50' south latitude, and 70° 18' west longitude.
At the mouth of the Guasco river is also a port of the same name, in 27° 20' south latitude, but it is a mere village, as is the case with most of the other towns of Copiapo.
PROVINCE OF COQUIMBO.
The second partido is that named Coquimbo; it is bounded on the north by Copiapo, east by the Andes, on the west by the Pacific, south-east by Aconcagua, and south-west by Quillota. It is forty-five leagues in length, and forty in breadth.
This country is similar to Copiapo; it also is extremely rich in gold, copper and iron, and produces wine, olives, and every kind of European fruit, as well as several tropical plants. The rivers are the Coquimbo, Tongoi, Chuapa and Limari; and the volcanoes Coquimbo and Limari are on its western frontier.
The climate is mild, and the air pure and healthy. The great copper mine of Coquimbo, is situated on the Cerro-verde, a hill which rises from the plain in a conical form, and serves for a land-mark to the port.
The capital is La Serena, or Coquimbo, which is pleasantly situated on the river of the same name, in 29° 52' south latitude, and 71° 19' west longitude. It was the second town built by Valdivia, in 1544, and stands about a mile from the sea, commanding a fine prospect of the ocean, the river and the country, which presents a landscape of the most lively appearance. This city is large but not very populous, the families who inhabit it amounting to only 4 or 500, consisting of Spaniards, creoles, mestizoes, and a few Indians.
The streets are wide, straight, and intersect each other at right angles, so as to form squares and spaces for gardens; every house having its garden, which are well filled with fruit trees and esculent vegetables. Besides the parochial church, there are three convents, a town-house, and a college which formerly belonged to the Jesuits. Its port is also called Coquimbo, and is at the mouth of the river, two leagues from the city; here, and at Tongoi, which is twenty-two miles to the south, in 30° 17' south latitude, and is a small harbour formed by the estuary of the Rio Tongoi, vessels load for Peru with copper, hides, tallow, fruit, &c. The bay of Coquimbo is the only good one on its coast; ships lie very safely in it, and are defended from all winds by several islands which are near it. Coquimbo has been taken several times by English cruizers.
PROVINCE OF QUILLOTA.
This partido is bounded on the north by Coquimbo, south by Aconcagua and Melipilla, south-east by Santiago, west by the ocean, and north-east by the Andes. Its length from north to south is twenty-five leagues, and its width from east to west twenty-one.