Combarbalá

City and commune in Coquimbo, Chile
The second hypothesis holds that the origin of the word Combarbalá comes from the Mapudungun word "Co Cam Bala", where "Co" means Water, "Cam" means Far, and "Bala" means Duck. Thus, Cocambala literally means "far away water with ducks", or Duck's pond. In fact, there is a place known as Duck's pond very near to the city. This pond was used as a resting place by the Inca army in their advance to the south, and then by the Spanish conquistadores Diego de Almagro first, and later by Pedro de Valdivia. People of Combarbalá likes to make jokes about the name of the city: they hold that an aborigine of the area, who was named "La", left to travel with the Spaniards. "La" got used to shaving his face and returned with a dense beard, something unusual because South American aborigines don't grow beards. Because of this, people named the area as the place where "Con Barba La" —literally with beard La or bearded La—lived. This history is told for the amusement of children's during the celebration of the city foundation anniversary.

The geographical area where Combarbalá is located was originally populated by Molle, Diaguita and Inca people. Molle people were the first to inhabit the area. The Molle people were hunter gatherers, although they also practiced some primal forms of agriculture. They inhabited the area from c. 400 BCE to c. 900 CE Their origins are still unknown, although some hypothesis trace them back to the Amazon Rainforest, coming through what is now Bolivia to the Atacama and Coquimbo regions of Chile. The Diaguita people arrived to the area c. 700 CE, about three hundred years after the Molle people. They crossed from Argentina through one of the several summer passages in the Andes mountain range. They practiced advanced forms of agriculture, pottery, stone work, weaving and metallurgy, mainly based on copper and bronze). They also carved figures in stone known as petroglyphs. These petroglyphs are believed to represent the cosmology of the Diaguita people. Nowadays, a number of these archeological treasures can be found in the area of Rincón las Chilcas. The Inca conquerors arrived c. 1450 CE. It is believed that the conquest was peaceful, and mainly affected cultural aspects. They extended the Inca roads in the area, and practiced advanced forms of mining and agriculture.

The failed expedition of Diego de Almagro arrived in the area in c. 1536. As it is known, they returned shortly after to Peru, empty handed. After that, the expedition of Pedro de Valdivia arrived to the area c. 1541. They found the valley mostly uninhabited, because most of the indigenous people were hiding in the hills. The indigenous were already afraid of Spaniards, because of the deeds of Almagro and his people. The first Spanish chronologist recording the name of "Cocambala" valley was Jeronimo de Vivar. He wrote: "It rains more heavier and more in summer (than Copiapó) there are good rivers in this area". He described the number of inhabitants as "Not too many people". Before the official foundation of the town, the life there was characterized for being extremely hard. The first census showed that the overall population of the area (Combarbalá, Cogotí and Pama) was 240 people, distributed across 60 families. Most of the activities were related to farming and shepherding. In 1757, the overall population was around 1,140 people. That same year, Bishop Manuel de Alday established the vice Parish in the area. In 1774, this was advanced to parish status. Later, on March 3, 1789, neighbors of the area ask the Spanish governor, Ambrosio O'Higgins, to establish a church in the area. This finally happened on November 30, 1789. The original name of the city was "Villa de San Francisco de Borja de Combarbalá". The foundation was done by Captain Juan Ignacio Flores, under the authority of governor and later viceroy, Ambrosio O'Higgins. At the beginning of the 18th century, mines of copper, gold and silver were discovered in the area. Thus, Combarbalá became an important mining center. However, during the mid 80's, the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet dismantled the mineral processing plant that operated in the city, thus ending the era of mining wealth, and putting the city into an era of economic uncertainty. Lately on the 90's, and thanks to techniques of dry areas irrigation, growing of export grade grapes have become the main economical activity, but only generating seasonal employment.

According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Combarbalá spans an area of and has 13,483 inhabitants (6,695 men and 6,788 women). Of these, 5,494 (40.7%) lived in urban areas and 7,989 (59.3%) in rural areas. The population fell by 6.3% (899 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Combarbalá's climate is semi arid, with a relative humidity around 50%. Summer temperatures range from with the much cooler nights typical of desert climates. Winter temperatures are generally above freezing, the minimum being ~. Most of the year it is clear and sunny. Annual rainfall is about 200 mm, but long droughts and heavy rains are not rare in the region. The vegetation found in the commune is typical of the area climate, adapted to the dryness and low relative humidity of the climate. Predominating species are in most of the area are different types of cacti, hawthorns and carob trees. However, in the valleys, near the rivers, is possible to find more water demanding species, like Eucalyptus and Weeping Willows. Rivers in the area are fed by two main sources: rain and melting snow. Because of this, their levels rise at least twice a year: in winter due to rains, and in summer due to snow melting. In a normal year, rains can be up to 200 mm. But periods of drought or heavy raining are not uncommon. There are a number of small rivers that come down from the Andes mountain chain, which tribute their water to the three main rivers in the commune: Combarbalá, Cogotí and Pama. All of them end at the Cogotí dam, which has a capacity of 150 million cubic meters (~39 billion gallons). From there, it flows into the Guatulame River and then to La Paloma dam in the commune of Monte Patria.

For almost two centuries, Combarbalá's main economic activity has been mining of copper, gold and silver. However, due to the decline of smaller mining operations, these activities have been greatly diminished. Besides mining, other activities such as agriculture, goat shepherding, and craft work of Combarbalita stone have become important productive activities. There are a number of artisans in the area that work with the stone and produce a variety of decorative and utilitarian objects. Goat cheese is also a famous product of the zone, and export grade grape production has become the main agricultural activity, with the only caveat that it produces seasonal work. Combarbalá is served by La Pelicana Airport, an airstrip to the north.