The paradas method was a process to extract nitrate from caliche by leaching. In this method caliche was boiled in water in large pans called "paradas". It was a firewood and labour-intensive process. The paradas method was phased out in the 1850s by a new system invented by Pedro Gamboni which required less fuel and labour.
The paradas method led to a massive deforestation of Pampa del Tamarugal around La Tirana and Canchones and some areas to the south of these localities.
References
Castro Castro, Luis; Figueroa Cerna, Carolina; Hernández Opazo, Héctor (2015). "Quehacer y planteamientos del cura Luis Friedrich en el oasis de Pica durante la chilenización de Tarapacá, 1903-1907" [Work and Approaches of the Priest Luis Friedrich in the Pica Oasis during Tarapacá Chilenization, 1903-1907]. Revista de Historia Regional y Local (in Spanish). 7 (13): 224–257. ↩
Garrido Lepe, Martín (2018). "El consumo de energía en la minería chilena. 1906 - 2013" [Chilean mining energy consumption. 1906 - 2013]. Historia: 131–161. /wiki/Historia_(history_of_the_Americas_journal) ↩
Castro Castro, Luis (2020-07-01). "El bosque de la Pampa del Tamarugal y la industria salitrera: El problema de la deforestación, los proyectos para su manejo sustentable y el debate político (Tarapacá, Peru-Chile 1829-1941)" [The Forest of Pampa del Tamarugal and the Saltpeter Industry: The Deforestation Problem, the Projects for their Sustainable Management and the Political Debate (Tarapacá, Perú-Chile 1829-1941)]. Scripta Nova (in Spanish). XXIV (641). Universitat de Barcelona. https://revistes.ub.edu/index.php/ScriptaNova/article/viewFile/26507/31629 ↩