Socomba Pass () is an Andean

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...

that connects the

Antofagasta Region The Antofagasta Region (, ) is one of Chile's Administrative divisions of Chile, sixteen first-order administrative divisions. Being the second-largest region of Chile in area, it comprises three provinces, Antofagasta Province, Antofagasta, El ...

of Chile with the Argentine province of

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Salta Province, the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the List of cities in Argentina, 7th most-populous ...

, in the

Los Andes Department Los Andes (i.e.: ''The Andes'') is a department located in Salta Province, Argentina. It is the second largest by area in the province, after Rivadavia Department, and its capital is the town of San Antonio de los Cobres. Geography Overview ...

for freight traffic by rail. Socompa Pass, at 3,876 meters above sea level, is located at the foot of the

Socompa Socompa is a large stratovolcano (composite volcano) on the border of Argentina and Chile. It has an elevation of and is part of the Chilean and Argentine Andean Volcanic Belt (AVB). Socompa is within the Central Volcanic Zone, one of the segme ...

volcano (6,031 meters). It gives way to the branch of the General Manuel Belgrano Railway on the Argentine side that connects

with the port of

Antofagasta Antofagasta () is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 402,669. Once claimed by Bolivia follo ...

on the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. Socomba Pass also allows passage to the Argentine side from a road in poor condition that joins Provincial Route 27 and for which only off-road vehicles are recommended. On the Chilean side, by road, the distance from the pass to Antofagasta is .

References

Mountain passes of Chile Mountain passes of Argentina Mountain passes of the Andes Argentina–Chile border crossings Landforms of Antofagasta Region Landforms of Salta Province {{Salta-geo-stub