La Rioja ( local pronunciation ), founded as City of All Saints of New Rioja (''in spanish: Ciudad de Todos los Santos de Nueva Rioja''), is the capital and largest city of

La Rioja Province, Argentina La Rioja (), officially Province of La Rioja is a province of Argentina located in the west of the country. The landscape of the province consists of a series of arid to semi-arid mountain ranges and agricultural valleys in between. It is in one ...

, located in the east of the province. The city and its eponymous province are named after

La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community and provinces of Spain, province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other List of municipalities in La Rioja, cities and towns in the ...

, a region in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. La Rioja is located on the foot of the Velasco Sierras, from

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, and from Córdoba.

History

It was founded in 1591 by Spanish conquistador, Juan Ramírez de Velasco. Colonial Architecture - La Rioja - Argentina

Geography

Climate

La Rioja has a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...

(''BSh'', according to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

), with average temperatures of to in winter and to in summer, but with maximum temperatures of more than . The average annual rainfall is , falling almost exclusively during the summer when moist tropical air from the northeast enters the region. The highest recorded temperature was on 28 December 1971 while the lowest recorded temperature was on 5 August 1966.

Sights

The Museo Folklórico is set in a 17th-century building, and its displays include local chaya music and the Tinkunaco festival. The 35,000-capacity Estadio Carlos Augusto Mercado Luna is located in La Rioja.

Transportation

The city is served by Capitán Vicente Almandos Almonacid Airport, with flights on Aerolíneas Argentinas.

References

External links

Official page
(Spanish) *

(English)
Universidad Nacional de La Rioja
(Spanish) {{Authority control Populated places established in 1591 Populated places in La Rioja Province, Argentina Capitals of Argentine provinces Cities in Argentina