The Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works

The Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works are located in the Pampa del Tamarugal, about 47 km east of Iquique, in Chile’s Tarapacá Region. Built in 1872, they were key sites during the boom of saltpeter, or “white gold,” which drove Chile’s economy from the late 19th to the mid-20th century.
Thousands of pampinos from Chile, Peru, and Bolivia lived and worked in these industrial towns. They developed a strong community identity, with unique cultural expressions, social organization, and early labor movements that shaped national history.
Both sites were declared National Monuments in 1970 and became UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2005. Today, visitors can explore original structures such as housing, schools, a church, theater, swimming pool, and industrial machinery, offering insight into both the nitrate production process and daily life in the pampas.