La Rioja, Argentina

La Rioja
City of All Saints of New Rioja
City
Cathedral and Basilica of San Nicolás de La Rioja
Cathedral and Basilica of San Nicolás de La Rioja
La Rioja is located in Argentina
La Rioja
La Rioja
Location of La Rioja in Argentina
Coordinates: 29°24′45″S 66°51′15″W / 29.41250°S 66.85417°W / -29.41250; -66.85417
Country Argentina
Province La Rioja
DepartmentCapital
Founded1591
Elevation
515 m (1,690 ft)
Population
 (2010 census [INDEC])
 • Total
180,995
Time zoneUTC−3 (ART)
CPA base
F5300
Dialing code+54 3822
WebsiteOfficial website

La Rioja (Spanish pronunciation: [la ˈrjoxa] local pronunciation Spanish pronunciation: [la ˈʂjoxa]), founded as City of All Saints of New Rioja (in spanish: Ciudad de Todos los Santos de Nueva Rioja), is the capital and largest city of La Rioja Province, Argentina, located in the east of the province. The city and its eponymous province are named after La Rioja, a region in Spain.

La Rioja is located on the foot of the Velasco Sierras, 1,167 km (725 mi) from Buenos Aires, and 430 km (267 mi) from Córdoba.

History

Monument to José de San Martín, in the Plaza 25 de Mayo.

It was founded in 1591 by the governor of Tucumán Province.[1]

Colonial architecture
Naindo Park Hotel

Geography

Climate

La Rioja has a semi-arid climate (BSh, according to the Köppen climate classification), with average temperatures of 5 °C (41 °F) to 19 °C (66 °F) in winter and 21 °C (70 °F) to 35 °C (95 °F) in summer, but with maximum temperatures of more than 45 °C (113 °F). The average annual rainfall is 411.4 mm (16 in), falling almost exclusively during the summer when moist tropical air from the northeast enters the region. The highest recorded temperature was 46.4 °C (115.5 °F) on 28 December 1971[2] while the lowest recorded temperature was −7.2 °C (19.0 °F) on 5 August 1966.[3]

Climate data for La Rioja, Argentina (Capitán Vicente Almandos Almonacid Airport) 1991–2020, extremes 1931–present
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 45.5
(113.9) 		43.8
(110.8) 		42.0
(107.6) 		40.0
(104.0) 		37.3
(99.1) 		30.5
(86.9) 		37.3
(99.1) 		41.4
(106.5) 		42.6
(108.7) 		45.2
(113.4) 		44.7
(112.5) 		46.4
(115.5) 		46.4
(115.5)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 35.2
(95.4) 		33.2
(91.8) 		30.8
(87.4) 		26.8
(80.2) 		22.6
(72.7) 		19.7
(67.5) 		19.5
(67.1) 		23.3
(73.9) 		26.9
(80.4) 		30.8
(87.4) 		33.6
(92.5) 		35.4
(95.7) 		28.2
(82.8)
Daily mean °C (°F) 27.6
(81.7) 		26.0
(78.8) 		23.9
(75.0) 		19.8
(67.6) 		15.3
(59.5) 		11.4
(52.5) 		10.6
(51.1) 		14.2
(57.6) 		18.4
(65.1) 		22.8
(73.0) 		25.6
(78.1) 		27.6
(81.7) 		20.3
(68.5)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 21.5
(70.7) 		20.1
(68.2) 		18.6
(65.5) 		14.6
(58.3) 		9.9
(49.8) 		5.6
(42.1) 		4.2
(39.6) 		6.9
(44.4) 		11.3
(52.3) 		15.9
(60.6) 		18.9
(66.0) 		20.8
(69.4) 		14.0
(57.2)
Record low °C (°F) 8.4
(47.1) 		9.5
(49.1) 		5.2
(41.4) 		1.0
(33.8) 		−3.0
(26.6) 		−5.6
(21.9) 		−6.9
(19.6) 		−7.2
(19.0) 		−2.5
(27.5) 		3.5
(38.3) 		3.3
(37.9) 		7.7
(45.9) 		−7.2
(19.0)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 90.3
(3.56) 		78.8
(3.10) 		63.4
(2.50) 		30.8
(1.21) 		8.2
(0.32) 		4.0
(0.16) 		4.2
(0.17) 		3.3
(0.13) 		5.5
(0.22) 		19.5
(0.77) 		32.0
(1.26) 		66.9
(2.63) 		406.9
(16.02)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 8.3 7.6 6.2 4.1 2.5 1.0 0.8 0.6 1.7 2.6 4.3 6.4 46.1
Average snowy days 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2
Average relative humidity (%) 59.9 63.9 67.9 70.0 71.1 70.3 63.2 52.2 47.6 49.3 51.5 54.4 60.1
Mean monthly sunshine hours 232.5 206.2 204.6 189.0 179.8 174.0 213.9 235.6 219.0 244.9 237.0 235.6 2,572.1
Mean daily sunshine hours 7.5 7.3 6.6 6.3 5.8 5.8 6.9 7.6 7.3 7.9 7.9 7.6 7.0
Percent possible sunshine 62 64 57 60 62 60 65 73 64 65 66 62 63
Source 1: Servicio Meteorológico Nacional[4][5][6]
Source 2: Meteo Climat (record highs and lows),[3] UNLP (percent sun only 1971–1980)[7][8]

Sights

The Museo Folklórico is set in a 17th-century building, and its displays include local chaya music and the Tinkunaco festival.[9] The 35,000-capacity Estadio Carlos Augusto Mercado Luna is located in La Rioja.

Transportation

The city is served by Capitán Vicente Almandos Almonacid Airport, with flights on Aerolíneas Argentinas.

References

  1. ^ "La Rioja". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  2. ^ "La Rioja, La Rioja". Estadísticas meteorológicas decadiales (in Spanish). Oficina de Riesgo Agropecuario. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Station La Rioja" (in French). Météo Climat. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  4. ^ "Estadísticas Climatológicas Normales - período 1991-2020" (in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  5. ^ "Estadísticas Climatológicas Normales – período 1991–2020" (PDF) (in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. 2023. Archived from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  6. ^ "Clima en la Argentina: Guia Climática por La Rioja Aero". Caracterización: Estadísticas de largo plazo (in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  7. ^ "Datos bioclimáticos de 173 localidades argentinas". Atlas Bioclimáticos (in Spanish). Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  8. ^ "87217: La Rioja Aero. (Argentina)". ogimet.com. OGIMET. 3 February 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  9. ^ "Museo Folklórico". La Rioja, Argentina. Lonely Planet. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
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