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La Rioja

Coat of Arms
Capital	La Rioja
Area	89,680 km²
Population	289,983 (2001)
Density	3.23/km²
Governor	Beder Herrera
Demonym	Riojano
ISO 3166-2	AR-F

La Rioja is a one of the provinces of Argentina and is located in the west of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Catamarca, Córdoba, San Luis and San Juan.

Among Argentines it is famous and infamous as the province where former president and controversial figure Carlos Menem was governor and caudillo.

Petroglyphs at the Talampaya National Park dated around 10,000 years BCE set original inhabitants long before the arrival of the Spanish conquerors. When they arrived to La Rioja in the 16th century they found the diaguitas, capayanes and the olongastas.

Juan Ramírez de Velazco founded Todos los Santos de la Nueva Rioja in 1591 under the government of Tucumán of the Viceroyalty of Peru. In 1630 there was an uprising of the calchaquíes aborigins that was finished by governor Albornoz.

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 indendency. The province acquired independence from Córdoba in 1820. The figure of the caudillo Juan Facundo Quiroga emerges and after a perdiod of internal instability in Argentina the province finally joined the Argentine Confederation in 1853.

The immigration to Argentina of the early 20th century was less numerous in La Rioja than in other Argentine provinces. Among the few to adventure to the province were Syrians and Lebanese immigrants.

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

From the Andes at the west, with peaks of up to 6,795 meters (Monte Pissis), the relief's height descents towards the sierras of the neighbouring dry Pampas zone.

The Talampaya National Park is a dry red-soil canyon of the ancient extinguished Talampaya river, which contains many walls and rock formations that make it an interesting tourist destination.

La Rioja's agriculture (as well as cities) lays on the shore of the few permanents rivers and oasis that allow irrigation, with only 190 square kilometres of cultivated land. Vineyards, nuts and olive plantations are the most common, followed by cotton.

The province's main activity is the grape, and its associated wine production, specially around the Chilecito area, with a production of 8 million litres per year.

Cattle (250,000 heads) and goats (150,000 heads) are secondary activities, particularly for skin and leather. Clay represents the main mining activity, and uranium is also extracted near El Colorado.

Tourism is 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 baths and the village of Villa Sanagasta.

La Rioja's development plan is being designed by Proyectos Innovadores

The province is divided in 18 departments (Spanish departamentos).

1. Arauco (Aimogasta)
2. Capital (La Rioja)
3. Castro Barros (Aminga)
4. Chamical (Chamical)
5. Chilecito (Chilecito)
6. Coronel Felipe Varela (Villa Unión)
7. Famatina (Famatina)
8. General ángel Vicente Peñaloza (Tama)
9. General Belgrano (Olta)
10. General Juan Facundo Quiroga (Malazán)
11. General Lamadrid (Villa Castelli)
12. General Ocampo (Milagro)
13. General San Martín (Ulapes)
14. Independencia (Patquía)
15. Rosario Vera Peñaloza (Chepes)
16. San Blas (San Blas)
17. Sanagasta (Sanagasta)
18. Vinchina (Vinchina)

• Gobierno de La Rioja Official website

v • d • e Provinces of Argentina
Capital Federal  ·   Buenos Aires  · Catamarca  · Chaco  · Chubut  · Córdoba  · Corrientes  · Entre Ríos  · Formosa  · Jujuy  · La Pampa  · La Rioja  · Mendoza  · Misiones  · Neuquén  · Río Negro  · Salta  · San Juan  · San Luis  · Santa Cruz  · Santa Fe  · Santiago del Estero  · Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica, and South Atlantic Islands  · Tucumán