Mizque Province
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Mizque (from
Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language **So ...
: ''misk'i'', meaning "sweet") is a
province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
in the
Cochabamba Department Cochabamba ( ay, Quchapampa Jach'a Suyu, es, Departamento de Cochabamba , qu, Quchapampa Suyu), from Quechua ''qucha'' or ''qhucha'', meaning "lake", ''pampa'' meaning "plain", is one of the nine departments of Bolivia. It is known to be the ...
, Bolivia. Its capital is Mizque. The province, in 1992, had a population of 27,959 inhabitants, mostly
indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
citizens of Quechuan descent. In 2001, the population increased to 36,181 inhabitants and it was estimated at 41,062 in 2005.


Geography

Mizque Province is home to a great diversity of
ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...
s because it contains a wide variety of topographic features with heights ranging between 2,000 and 3,600 m. The province belongs to the Julpe- Mizque basin with an area of 3,845 km2. The main rivers are: *
Mizque River The Mizque River (Quechua language, Quechua ''misk'i'' sweet) is a river of Bolivia in the Cochabamba Department. It is a tributary of Río Grande (Bolivia), Río Grande. See also *List of rivers of Bolivia Further reading

*Rand McNally, The ...
, 75 km * Julpe River, 60 km * Uyuchama River, 50 km * Tuqma River, 45 km * Kari Kari River, 42 km * Vicho Vicho River, 32 km Although there is a large amount of superficial and sub-superficial water within the province, the zone is suffering from drought due to the lack of
irrigation system Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been develop ...
s. Some of the highest mountains of the province are listed below:Bolivia 1:100,000 Mizque 3835


Climate

The climate is dry. There are a few irregular rainfalls and long periods of drought. The medium annual temperature varies between 16 and 18 °C. During the
rainy season The rainy season is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Rainy Season may also refer to: * ''Rainy Season'' (short story), a 1989 short horror story by Stephen King * "Rainy Season", a 2018 song by Monni * '' ...
("summer"), corresponding to the months from December to March, the province receives 87% of the annual
precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
, in December and January alone 57%, often occurring as hailstorms. During the
dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The te ...
("winter") the temperature goes down radically and snowfalls occur. The annual precipitation is between 300 and 700 mm, reaching 507 mm annually on an average.


Flora

The
semiarid 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 semi- ...
and
arid A region is arid when it severely lacks available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Regions with arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic. Most ...
regions are covered with plants which are tolerant towards dry conditions. 75% of the total area of Mizque Province is cultivated.


Fauna

The red-fronted macaws (''Ara rubrogenys''), endemic to a small mountainous area of Bolivia, can be observed in Mizque. This species is considered to be endangered due to intense agriculture activity which has reduced its
habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
. The problem is that the peasants of some zones look upon them as a plague because they raid the maize in the fields. There is a chance that they might be regarded as one of the tourist attractions of the region.


Subdivision

The province is divided into three
municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
which are further subdivided into ten cantons.


The people

The majority of the population of the Mizque Province lives in the rural area in communities far apart from each other. The lack of good roads makes trade and providing services difficult. The land in some areas is quite dry and not appropriate for farming. That may be some of the reasons why the
Human Development Index The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistic composite index of life expectancy, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income indicators, wh ...
in the municipalities of Mizque is among the lowest in Bolivia (0.365, 0.400 and 0.460), placing them in the positions 284 (Mizque), 305 (Vila Vila) and 298 (Alalay) out of 314 municipalities. The conditions of life are especially critical in the puna and remote communities. The level of income of a peasant family in the high zones or in the
dryland Drylands are defined by a scarcity of water. Drylands are zones where precipitation is balanced by evaporation from surfaces and by transpiration by plants (evapotranspiration). The United Nations Environment Program defines drylands as tropical ...
is estimated at 200 - 250 US-$ per year. Some data: There are 182 rural communities within the territory of the province situated in heights between 2,000 m in the template valleys and 3,600 m in the puna.


Language

The predominant language is
Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language **So ...
, spoken by 32,212 inhabitants and about 11,482 inhabitants are bilingual. They can speak
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
as well. The following table shows the number of those belonging to the recognized group of speakers.obd.descentralizacion.gov.bo
(Spanish)


Economy

The economic activity is concentrated on
agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...
and animal husbandry and to a minor extent on
mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...
and
crafts A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale prod ...
. The most important sectors in agriculture are the cultivation of potatoes, maize, wheat, peanuts, barley and onions.


Festivals and Fairs

* 2nd week in May: Fruit fair in Mizque, 1 day * July 16: Our Lady of Mount Carmel in
Alalay Alalay is a location in the Cochabamba Department in central Bolivia. It is the seat of the Alalay Municipality, the third municipal section of the Mizque Province Mizque (from Quechua: ''misk'i'', meaning "sweet") is a province in the Cochaba ...
, 3 days * September 8–14: Our Lord of Burgos (''Señor de Burgos'') in Mizque, 7 days * September 23–25: ''Virgen Mestiza de Shikimira'' in Vila Vila, 3 days


References


Global Program of Development
(Spanish)


External links


Education: Statistical Data of Mizque Municipality

Education: Statistical Data of Vila Vila Municipality

Education: Statistical Data of Alalay Municipality

Mizque and Campero Province
{{Authority control Provinces of Cochabamba Department