The Atacameño people or likanantai lived in oasis, valleys and creeks of the Loa Province in Northern Chile (II Region).
Atacama Salt Lake , Licancabur volcano and the Salado and Grande rivers belong to this dry region along with the town of San Pedro de Atacama, and the basin of the Loa River, with Calama city as its center.

In the Atacameños social life, the comunidad (community) plays a major role. Cooperation is called whenever public work is needed, as in road constructions, or for building community centers, or cleaning the irrigation canals.
Caspana, Peine, Socaire, San Pedro de Atacama and Toconao villages are ceremonial and commercial centers visited by most Atacameños people. The 1992 census indicates 85,829 residents for the Loa Province, but gives no information about their ethnic origins.