This article examines the adaptive strategies of transhumant communities in Chile’s Norte Chico in response to territorial transformations caused by extractive activities and changes in property regimes. Through a qualitative methodology combining ethnography, spatial analysis, and document review, it analyzes how these communities maintain and transform their practices of territorial mobility. The results show that the persistence of transhumance is based on a flexible process of territorialization articulated around three fundamental components: a network of routes reflecting accumulated environmental knowledge, a system of majadas (seasonal pastoral settlements) serving as mobility infrastructure, and mechanisms of cultural transmission adapted to new contexts. It is argued that these adaptive strategies constitute an important repository of knowledge on the sustainable management of arid territories, particularly relevant in contexts of climate change and increasing territorial pressures.
