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 of these valleys that the capital of the province, the city of La Rioja, lies. Neighboring provinces are, from the north clockwise, Catamarca, Córdoba, San Luis and San Juan. The Triassic sauropodomorph dinosaur '' Riojasaurus'' is named after the province.

History

Petroglyphs created by early indigenous peoples at the Talampaya National Park are dated around 10,000 years BC. Succeeding cultures of indigenous peoples developed here. The Diaguita, Capayan and the Olongasta peoples inhabited the territory of present-day La Rioja Province at the time of encounter with the Spanish colonists in the 16th century. Juan Ramírez de Velazco founded ''Todos Los Santos de la Nueva Rioja'' in 1591 under the government of Tucumán of the

Viceroyalty of Peru The Viceroyalty of Peru (), officially known as the Kingdom of Peru (), was a Monarchy of Spain, Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in ...

. In 1630 the Calchaquí people revolted against the Spanish, but the governor Albornoz suppressed them. In 1783, after the creation of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, the control of the province of 10,000 inhabitants passed to the Córdoba independency. The province acquired independence from Córdoba in 1820. Following attempts by Bernardino Rivadavia, the first elected President of Argentina, to impose a centralist constitution, the ''

caudillo A ''caudillo'' ( , ; , from Latin language, Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of Personalist dictatorship, personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise English translation for the term, though it ...

'' Juan Facundo Quiroga emerged as a popular leader. He represented their preference for more autonomy, for which they continued to press following Quiroga's 1835 assassination. After a period of internal instability in Argentina, the province finally joined the ''Argentine Confederation'' in 1853. Menem en aniversario de la Bolsa de Cereales

Menem en aniversario de la Bolsa de Cereales

La Rioja attracted fewer immigrants from Europe than did other Argentine provinces from 1890 to the 1930s. Some Syrian and Lebanese immigrants did settle in the province, among whom the most well-known is probably the Menem family. Coming from what had been the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, Saul Menem and his wife were of Armenian and Alawi ancestry. He prospered as a traveling salesman and sent his eldest son,

Carlos Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) served as the 50th president of Argentina for ten years, from 1989 to 1999. He identified as Peronism, Peronist, serving as President of the Justicialist Party for 13 years (from 1990 to 200 ...

, to Spain for college. The younger Menem was elected governor of La Rioja Province in March 1973, was imprisoned during the subsequent dictatorship and was elected president of Argentina in 1989, serving until 1999. During those years, he steered billions in federal public works spending into La Rioja. Although the province remains less developed than the average in the nation, its economy today compares favorably with those of its neighbors.

Geography

Located in the Argentine Northwest area, its landscape is arid to semi-arid, and the dry climate receives annually 200 mm of precipitation, has short winters, and very hot summers. From the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

at the west, with peaks of up to 6,795 meters ('' Monte Pissis''), the relief's height descends towards the sierras of the neighbouring dry Pampas zone. Most ranges in La Rioja are oriented north-south. The province's two largest cities, La Rioja and Chilecito are separated by Sierra de Velasco and west of Chilecito and Famatina rises the Sierra de Famatina with heights of up to 6,250 m.a.sl. (≈20500 feet). The Talampaya National Park is a dry red-soil canyon of the dry Talampaya river, which contains many cliff walls and rock formations that make it an interesting tourist destination.

Economy

La Rioja's economy, estimated at US$1.822 billion in 2006, is the second-smallest among Argentina's provinces. Its per capita output of US$6,283, though about 30% below the national average, makes it the most well-developed in northern Argentina. Its economy is, likewise, very well-diversified. Agriculture (long limited by La Rioja's dry, mountainous terrain) adds less than 5% to its output. La Rioja's agriculture (as well as cities) lies on the banks of the few permanent rivers and oases that allow irrigation, with only 190 square kilometres of cultivated land.

Vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

s, nuts and

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

plantations are the most common, followed by cotton. The province's main crop is the grape, and its associated wine production, especially around the Chilecito area, with a production of 8 million litres per year. Cattle (250,000 head) and goats (150,000 head) are secondary activities, particularly for skin and leather.

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

represents the main mining activity, and uranium is also extracted near ''El Colorado''. Manufacturing in La Rioja has expanded considerably since Gov. Menem began attracting investment into the province, after 1983. Limited mostly to light industry like bottling and food processing, it, nevertheless, adds about 20% to La Rioja's output. Tourism is, likewise, an expanding activity. Besides the Talampaya National Park, tourists visiting La Rioja usually go also to the Chilecito town, ''Cerro de La Cruz'', ''Termas de Santa Teresita'' hot springs and the village of ''Villa Sanagasta''. Since 2024 it has its own currency, the chacho, which was introduced in response to the economic problems caused by President Javier Milei's austerity program and accompanying cuts to federal budget transfers.

Government

The provincial government is divided into the usual three branches: the executive, headed by a popularly elected governor, who appoint the cabinet; the legislative; and the judiciary, headed by the Supreme Court. The Constitution of La Rioja Province, Argentina forms the formal law of the province. In Argentina, the most important law enforcement organization is the Argentine Federal Police but the additional work is carried out by the La Rioja Provincial Police.

Political divisions

The province is divided in 18 departments (Spanish ''departamentos''). They are formally considered to be a single municipality, and usually contain one or more population centers (i.e. towns and cities). # Arauco ( Aimogasta) # Capital ( La Rioja) # Castro Barros ( Aminga) # Chamical ( Chamical) # Chilecito ( Chilecito) # Coronel Felipe Varela ( Villa Unión) # Famatina ( Famatina) # General Ángel Vicente Peñaloza ( Tama) # General Belgrano ( Olta) # General Juan Facundo Quiroga (Malazán) # General Lamadrid ( Villa Castelli) # General Ocampo ( Milagro) # General San Martín ( Ulapes) # Independencia ( Patquía) # Rosario Vera Peñaloza ( Chepes) # San Blas de los Sauces ( San Blas de los Sauces) # Sanagasta ( Sanagasta) # Vinchina (Vinchina) Image:Parapente Famatina.jpg, Hangliding in the Famatina valley, La Rioja. Image:Museo Botánico Chirau Mita.jpg, Chirau Mita Botanical Gardens, Chilecito. Image:Murallón de Olta.jpg, Dam wall, Olta

References

External links

Gobierno de La Rioja
Official website {{Authority control Provinces of Argentina States and territories established in 1853 Wine regions of Argentina