The town was christened San Francisco de la Selva de Copiap� or Saint Francis of the Jungle of Copiap�, due to its lush vegetation. Prior to Spanish occupation, the area was inhabited by the Diaguita people under the rule of the Inca Empire. The earliest archaeological remains of human activity in the Copiap� Valley have been dated at ten thousand years BP.
Copiap� was, until the annexation of Antofagasta and Iquique during the War of the Pacific (1879�1883), Chile's northernmost city and main mining city.
On 5 August 2010, a copper/gold mine collapsed, leaving 33 miners trapped underground. The miners survived underground for 69 days until their rescue on 13 October 2010, a record period of time
