La Rioja, Argentina
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La Rioja is the capital city of the Argentine province of La Rioja, located at coordinates , on the east of the province. The city has an area of 13,638 km and a population of 146,418 (
Information about the City
La Rioja is located on the foot of the Velasco Sierras, 543 meters above sea level, 1,167 km from Buenos Aires, and 430 km from Córdoba. The Capitán Vicente Almonacid Airport at coordinates is 7 kilometres away from La Rioja, and serves regular flights to Buenos Aires and Catamarca.The weather is dry and semi-desertic with average temperatures of 5°C to 20°C in winter and 21°C to 35°C in summer, but with maximum temperatures of more that 40°C. The sun is also very strong, and landscape arid.
The economy of the entire province is historically tied to the cattle and agriculture, as well as wine production. But the beginning of the 1970s brought to the city an industrialisation thrust that makes La Rioja today an important centre in Argentina's pharmacological industry (e.g. Bagó laboratories).
Former president Isabel Martínez de Perón was born in La Rioja.
History
Juan Ramirez de Velasco founded on May 20 1591, while he was the Governor of the Territories of Tucumán, Todos los Santos de la Nueva Rioja in honour to the La Rioja city in Spain.The city was the only settlement of some importance in the territory of the present province, and when an earthquake severely damaged the city in 1894, it had only 8,000 inhabitants. In was not until the 1970s that the population of the city, and of the province, started growing considerably.
External links
- [Official page] (Spanish)
- [Municipal information] - Municipal Affairs Federal Institute (IFAM), Municipal Affairs Secretariat, Ministry of Interior, Argentina.
- [City Information] (English)
- [Universidad Nacional de La Rioja] (Spanish)
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