Most of the cities are located on the Pacific coast. Oases in the desert and some valleys, however, have been inhabited for thousands of years and were home to the most advanced pre-Columbian societies.
At that time, much of the plain, known as the Pampa del Tamarugal, was forested, but the demand for firewood associated with silver and saltpeter mining in the 18th and 19th centuries resulted in widespread deforestation.
