Matilla
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Matilla
| native_name =
| native_name_lang = es
| other_name =
| settlement_type = Town
| image_skyline = Iglesia de Matilla 2.jpg
| image_alt = Church of Matilla
| image_caption = Church of Matilla
| image_flag =
| flag_alt = Flag
| image_shield =
| shield_alt = Coat of arms
| image_map = Comuna de Pica.svg
| map_alt = Map of Pica in Tarapacá Region
| map_caption = Map of the commune of Pica in Tarapacá Region
| pushpin_map = Chile
| pushpin_map_narrow = yes
| pushpin_label_position = bottom
| pushpin_map_alt = Location in Chile
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Chile
| coordinates = {{coord|20|30|48.5|S|69|21|40.6|W|region:CL-TA|display=inline,title}}
| coor_pinpoint =
| coordinates_footnotes =
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flag|Chile}}
| subdivision_type1 = Region
| subdivision_name1 = {{flag|Tarapacá}}
| subdivision_type2 = Province
| subdivision_name2 = Tamarugal
| established_title =
| established_date =
| founder =
| named_for =
| government_footnotes =
| government_type = Municipal council
| leader_party =
| leader_title = Alcalde
| leader_name =
| unit_pref = Metric
| area_footnotes =
| area_total_km2 =
| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_m = 1206
| population_footnotes = {{cite web |url=https://geoarchivos.ine.cl/File/pub/Cd_Pb_Al_Cs_2019.pdf |title=Ciudades, pueblos, aldeas y caceríos 2019 |publisher= National Statistics Institute|date=2019 |access-date=November 1, 2020|language=es}}
| population_total = 380
| population_as_of = 2017 Census
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_demonym =
| population_blank1_title = Urban
| population_blank1 =
| population_blank2_title = Rural
| population_blank2 =
| demographics_type1 = Sex
| demographics1_title1 = Men
| demographics1_info1 = 181
| demographics1_title2 = Women
| demographics1_info2 = 199
| timezone = CLT{{cite web |url=http://www.world-time-zones.org/zones/chile-time.htm |accessdate=9 September 2010 |title=Chile Time |publisher=WorldTimeZones.org |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070911130719/http://www.world-time-zones.org/zones/chile-time.htm |archivedate=11 September 2007 }}
| utc_offset = -4
| timezone_DST = CLST{{cite web |url=http://www.world-time-zones.org/zones/chile-summer-time.htm |accessdate=9 September 2010 |title=Chile Summer Time |publisher=WorldTimeZones.org |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070911130451/http://www.world-time-zones.org/zones/chile-summer-time.htm |archivedate=11 September 2007 }}
| utc_offset_DST = -3
| postal_code_type =
| postal_code =
| area_code_type =
| area_code = (+56) 5
| geocode =
| website =
| footnotes =
}}
Matilla is a Chilean village and oasis in the interior of Atacama Desert. It lies four kilometers southwest of the oasis town of Pica. As of 2017 Matilla had 380 inhabitants and 217 homes. It hosts underground aqueducts in various states of decay. These aqueducts are locally known as socavones and tap Pica Aquifer.{{Cite journal|title=Exploration, mapping and characterization of filtration galleries of the Pica Oasis, northern Chile: A contribution to the knowledge of the Pica aquifer|journal=Andean Geology|url=http://www.andeangeology.cl/index.php/revista1/article/view/V47n3-3272/html|last=Lictevout|first=Elizabeth|volume=47|pages=529–558|last2=Abellanosa|first2=Carlos|issue=3|doi=10.5027/andgeoV47n3-3272|year=2020|last3=Maass|first3=Constanza|last4=Pérez|first4=Nicolás|last5=Gonzalo|first5=Yáñez|last6=Véronique|first6=Leonardi Véronique|doi-access=free}}
In the late 19th century its inhabitants were prone to suffer typhus, ostensibly because of the poor quality of the village's water source and the existence of a nearby swamp. In 1904 the village had obtained a new water supply thanks to Father Luis Friedrich's initiative and the wealthy neighbors who financed the works.{{Cite journal|title=Quehacer y planteamientos del cura Luis Friedrich en el oasis de Pica durante la chilenización de Tarapacá, 1903-1907|journal=Revista de Historia Regional y Local|last=Castro Castro|first=Luis|volume=7|pages=224–257|last2=Figueroa Cerna|first2=Carolina|issue=13|year=2015|language=Spanish|trans-title=Work and Approaches of the Priest Luis Friedrich in the Pica Oasis during Tarapacá Chilenization, 1903-1907|last3=Hernández Opazo|first3=Héctor}}
The population of Matilla is mostly of Spanish descent in contrast to Pica whose old inhabitants have more indigenous heritage.{{Cite journal|title=Matilla. Apuntes etnográficos|journal=BFUCh|last=Alba|first=Valencia|volume=XXIX|pages=303–331|year=1978|language=Spanish}}
The location became first known to the Spanish after the men of Diego de Almagro reached the area in 1536 on their return to Peru. Local lore says the town was founded in 1547 by Márquez de Loayza who arrived from present-day Bolivia. Other sources give 1642 as the date of founding.