San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca () is the capital and largest city in

Catamarca Province Catamarca () is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. The province had a population of 334,568 as per the , and covers an area of 102,602 km2. Its literacy rate is 95.5%. Neighbouring provinces are (clockwise, fr ...

in northwestern

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, on the Río Valle River, at the feet of the

Cerro Ambato Cerro is Spanish for "hill" or "mountain". Toponyms ;Bolivia: * Cerro Rico, the "Rich Mountain" containing silver ore near Potosi, Bolivia ;Brazil: * Cerro Branco, a municipality of Rio Grande do Sul * Cerro Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, a munici ...

. The city name is normally shortened as Catamarca. The city of , located above sea level, has 159,000 inhabitants (), with more than 200,000 counting the suburbia, what represents around 70% of the population of the province.

Overview

The city is located from

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. The closest provincial capitals are La Rioja (), Tucumán () and

Santiago del Estero Santiago del Estero (, Spanish for ''Saint-James-Upon-The-Lagoon'') is the capital of Santiago del Estero Province in northern Argentina. It has a population of 252,192 inhabitants, () making it the twelfth largest city in the country, with a surf ...

(). Many

pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on Pilgrimage, a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the a ...

s come to San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca to visit the Church of the Virgin of the Valley (1694), which contains a statue of ''Nuestra Señora'' del Valle (Our Lady of the Valley). Catamarca is also the touristic centre of the province, with its colonial architecture, and serves as a hub to many touristic points and excursions, hiking, mountain-bike tours, horse riding, and wine tasting.

Transportation

San Fernando del Valle is served by

Coronel Felipe Varela International Airport Coronel Felipe Varela International Airport ( es, link=no, Aeropuerto Coronel Felipe Varela) is an airport in Catamarca Province, Argentina serving the city of San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca. It was built in 1972, and was officially inaugu ...

(CTC/SANC), with flights to Buenos Aires-AEP.

History and politics

An initial settlement, called Londres, was established here by

Spanish colonists Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both ind ...

in 1558; a permanent settlement was not founded until 1683, by

Fernando de Mendoza y Mate de Luna Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

. ''Catamarca'' comes from Quechua meaning "fortress on the slope". The city, which had only 8,000 inhabitants in 1882 and was reached by a railway line in 1888, grew very slowly, and the region remained poor even in the middle of the 20th century.

Climate

The warm

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 semi-ar ...

( Köppen ''BSh'') of Catamarca has an annual average of 20 °C with an average maximum temperature of in summer with several days typically exceeding , and an average minimum of in winter. Temperatures in the high mountains can drop down to , however in the city they rarely go below freezing. The Valle (valley) receives relatively little rainfall from summer thunderstorms; most of the precipitation is received in the form of snow on the high mountain tops surrounding the city.

Economy

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 to ...

is San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca's chief economic activity; however, low rainfall makes

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...

necessary. Fruit and grapes are grown in the oasis areas near the city, and there is a considerable production of wine. Other local production includes preserves and handwoven

poncho A poncho (; qu, punchu; arn, pontro; "blanket", "woolen fabric") is an outer garment designed to keep the body warm. A rain poncho is made from a watertight material designed to keep the body dry from the rain. Ponchos have been used by the ...

s. Cotton and

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

are important economically, as well as mining at the ''Farallón Negro'', ''Bajo de la Alumbrera'' and ''Capillitas'' mines where

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

and

tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...

Gallery

File:Catedral Basílica Nuestra Señora del Valle, Catamarca.jpg, Cathedral of Our Lady of the Valley File:Catamarca Capital Terminal Omnibus.JPG, Güemes Avenue and the omnibus terminal File:Panoramica de San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca.jpg, Urban landscape of the city with the Ambato mountain in the back. File:El Jumeal.jpg, El Jumeal dam. File:Estatuta de San Francisco, frente al convento.jpg, The San Francisco Convent front, in the city center of San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca.

Notes

References

External links

Municipality of S. F. del V. de Catamarca
- Official website. {{Authority control Populated places in Catamarca Province Capitals of Argentine provinces Populated places established in 1683 Cities in Argentina 1683 establishments in the Spanish Empire