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CATAMARCA

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Originally appearing in Volume V05, Page 502 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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CATAMARCA , an Andean See also:

province of the See also:Argentine See also:Republic, lying W. of See also:Santiago del Estero and See also:Tucuman and extending to the Chilean frontier, with Los See also:Andes and See also:Salta on the N., See also:Cordoba on the S.E., and See also:Rioja on the S. Pop. (1895) 90,161; (1904, estimate) 103,082; See also:area, 47,531 sq. m. The See also:surface of the province is extremely broken, the Andes forming its western boundary, and the Aconquija, Ancaste, See also:Ambato, Gulampaja and other ranges traversing it from See also:north to See also:south. It is composed very largely of high plateaus with a See also:general slope southward broken by a few fertile valleys. The greater See also:part of the province is arid and barren, being sheltered from the moist, eastern winds by the high See also:mountain barriers of Aconquija and Ancaste. The See also:rivers are small, and some of them are lost in the barren, sandy wastes. Others, especially in the foothills of the high sierras, are utilized to irrigate the fertile valleys. The See also:climate of some of the See also:low, sheltered valleys is extremely hot and unhealthy, but on the open plateaus it is peculiarly dry and bracing and is probably beneficial in the treatment of pulmonary diseases. The See also:mineral resources of the province include See also:gold, See also:silver, See also:copper, See also:lead, See also:nickel, See also:iron, See also:coal and See also:malachite, but of these only copper and silver are See also:mined, and these chiefly in the Andalgala See also:district. See also:Salt deposits also eiiist, but are worked only to a limited extent. Cereals, See also:alfalfa and See also:fruit are grown.

Large See also:

numbers of See also:cattle, fattened in the alfalfa See also:fields of Pucara, Tinogasta and Copacabana, are driven into See also:northern See also:Chile across the See also:San Francisco pass (13,124 ft. above See also:sea level) and mules are bred for the Bolivian See also:market. See also:Wine of an excellent quality is produced and exported. Tanning See also:leather is another See also:industry of the province, some of the trees growing in the Catamarca forests being See also:rich in See also:tannin. Catamarca is traversed by the Northern Central railway between Cordoba and the See also:city of Catamarca, its See also:capital, which passes around the See also:southern extremity of the Sierra de Ancaste and makes a See also:long detour to Chumbicha, near the Riojafrontier. The more important towns, after Catamarca, the capital, are Andalgala and Tinogasta with populations (estimated, 1904) of 5000 to 6000 each. Belen is the See also:oldest See also:Spanish See also:settlement in the province and was founded in 1550, being called Barco at first. The See also:population is largely mixed with See also:Indian See also:blood.

End of Article: CATAMARCA

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