Pica, Chile

Pica
Town and Commune
View of Pica town and oasis in the foreground from the southeast.
Coat of arms Map of Pica in Tarapacá Region Pica Location in Chile
Coordinates: 20°29′21″S 69°19′46″W
Country	Chile
Region	Tarapacá
Province	Tamarugal
Government
• Type	Municipal council
• Alcalde	Iván Infante
Area
• Total	8,934.3 km2 (3,449.6 sq mi)
Elevation	1,106 m (3,629 ft)
Population  (2017 Census)
• Total	9,296
• Density	1.040/km2 (2.695/sq mi)
• Urban	3,912
• Rural	5,384
Sex
• Men	6,550
• Women	2,746
Time zone	UTC-4 (CLT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-3 (CLST)
Area code	(+56) 5
Website	www.municipalidadpica.cl

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Pica is a Chilean town and commune in Tamarugal Province, Tarapacá Region. Situated in the inland of the Atacama Desert on an oasis, Pica is famous for its small and unusually acidic limes known as Limón de Pica. The town has a communal hot spring with a surface temperature of 40 °C, which makes it a popular bath place in the middle of the desert. It has hotels and all basic services. The town lies four kilometers to the northeast of the oasis village of Matilla.

Pica has a mild microclimate that does not display the typical high temperature oscillations seen in many of the world's deserts. The settlement has pre-Hispanic origins and served as an important stopover for transit between the coast and the Altiplano during the time of the Inca Empire. Bird mummies of pre-Hispanic origin have been found next to Pica. Pica gained prominence over the course of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries when it grew in association with important mining cycles of nearby areas. The first mining cycle that benefited Pica was the silver mining of Huantajaya and San Rosa between 1718 and 1790, this was then followed by a cycle of salpeter mining using the paradas method between 1830 and 1870. The town became part of Chile following the War of the Pacific (1879–1883). The Peruvian population of the town and specifically the rich and influential Peruvian families were a major concern for Chilean authorities who wished to Chilenize the area.

Pica had once an extensive irrigation system of puquios, whose shafts are locally known as socavones. In 1918 geologist Juan Brüggen mentioned the existence of 23 socavones in the Pica oasis, yet these have since then been abandoned due to economic and social changes. The socavones transported water from the Pica Aquifer to the oasis. As in many oases one of the biggest challenges for farmers in Pica is the scarcity of water. Most of the farmers in Pica own less than five hectares, and while this size hampers commercialization of products farmers have responded by organising themselves in cooperatives. Six producers, compromising one fifth of the agricultural output of the oasis, are organised in Oasis Pica Coop. This organisation was as of 2019 working to certify products as organic and enforce the appellation control for Limón de Pica. Limón de Pica have had an appellation since 2010.