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Catamarca is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. The province has a...

Catamarca is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. The province has a population of 334,568 as per the 2001 census [INDEC], and covers an area of 102,602 km². Its literacy rate is 95.5%. Neighbouring provinces are (clockwise, from the north): Salta, Tucumán, Santiago del Estero, Córdoba, and La Rioja. To the west it borders Chile. The capital is San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca, usually shortened to Catamarca. Other important cities include Andalgalá, Tinogasta, and Belén. Most of Catamarca’s territory of 102,602 square kilometers (2.7% of the country total), is covered by mountains (80%), which can be grouped into four clearly differentiated systems: the Pampean sierras, in the east and center; the Narváez-Cerro Negro-Famatina system, in the west; the cordilleran-Catamarca area of transition, in the western extreme; the Puna, an elevated portion, in the northwest. Located in an arid and semi-arid climatic zone, Catamarca shows an evident scarcity of superficial hydraulic resources; this fact accounts for human activities and settlements. Advantage has been taken of intermontane areas, such as pockets and valleys, for agricultural activities. To the