La Quiaca

La Quiaca
City
La Quiaca is located in Argentina
La Quiaca
La Quiaca
Location in Jujuy Province
Coordinates: 22°06′15″S 65°35′50″W / 22.10417°S 65.59722°W / -22.10417; -65.59722
Country Argentina
Province Jujuy
DepartmentYavi
Elevation
3,442 m (11,293 ft)
Population
 (2010 census [INDEC])
 • Total13,761
CPA Base
Y 4650
Area code03885

La Quiaca is a small city in the north of the province of Jujuy, Argentina, on the southern bank of the La Quiaca River, opposite the town of Villazón, Bolivia. It lies at the end of National Route 9, 289 km (180 mi) from San Salvador de Jujuy (the provincial capital), and at an altitude of 3,442 m (11,293 ft) above mean sea level.

La Quiaca has 13,761 inhabitants as per the 2010 census [INDEC]. It is the head town of the Yaví Department, which includes also the towns of Barrios, Cangrejillos, El Cóndor, Pumahuasi, and Yaví. The area is serviced by an airport located at 22°09′02″S 65°34′39″W / 22.15056°S 65.57750°W / -22.15056; -65.57750.

La Quiaca is an approximate antipode to Hong Kong.

It has all the amenities of a modern city (potable water, electricity, sewer, Internet). This city is one of the north of the Puna which has all the basic facilities for the convenience of tourists, one of the most important urban settlement in northern Argentina.

La Quiaca, Jujuy.

In the country, this city is the classic reference to the northern end of the country, though in reality this distinction is held by the town of Salvador Mazza, or Pocitos, in the province of Salta. In 1985, after a three-year national tour, the renowned composer León Gieco released a folk album called De Ushuaia a La Quiaca ("From Ushuaia to La Quiaca").

Trucks at La Quiaca on the border between Argentina and Bolivia (with the town of Villazón (Bolivia) in the background).

Geography

Climate

In spite of its location within the tropics, because it is located at over 3,400 metres (11,200 ft) above sea level, La Quiaca has a cold semi-arid climate (BSk, according to the Köppen climate classification), with an annual precipitation of 351.6 mm (14 in). During winter months, temperatures during the day are mild, averaging 14.7 °C (58.5 °F) in July while the nights can get freezing cold, with temperatures dropping well below 0 °C (32.0 °F).[1] Precipitation is rare during the winter months although snowfalls are possible. During the summer months, temperatures during the day are mild to warm, averaging 19 to 20 °C (66 to 68 °F) although nighttime temperatures can remain cool. Most of the precipitation that La Quiaca receives falls during the summer months. It is possibly the sunniest place in Argentina, averaging 3410 hours of sunshine or 76.9% of possible sunshine ranging from a low of 62.5% in February to a high of 87.5% in July.[1] The highest temperature recorded was 28.8 °C (83.8 °F) on February 4, 1998, while the lowest temperature was −15.2 °C (4.6 °F).

Climate data for La Quiaca, Argentina (1991–2020, extremes 1961–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 27.7
(81.9) 		28.8
(83.8) 		28.0
(82.4) 		25.5
(77.9) 		25.2
(77.4) 		22.7
(72.9) 		21.7
(71.1) 		24.5
(76.1) 		27.2
(81.0) 		27.4
(81.3) 		28.5
(83.3) 		28.6
(83.5) 		28.8
(83.8)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 20.6
(69.1) 		20.4
(68.7) 		20.6
(69.1) 		20.3
(68.5) 		17.8
(64.0) 		16.3
(61.3) 		16.1
(61.0) 		18.0
(64.4) 		20.0
(68.0) 		21.7
(71.1) 		22.5
(72.5) 		22.2
(72.0) 		19.7
(67.5)
Daily mean °C (°F) 13.2
(55.8) 		13.0
(55.4) 		12.8
(55.0) 		11.3
(52.3) 		7.3
(45.1) 		4.8
(40.6) 		4.5
(40.1) 		7.0
(44.6) 		10.0
(50.0) 		12.4
(54.3) 		13.4
(56.1) 		13.9
(57.0) 		10.3
(50.5)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 7.7
(45.9) 		7.6
(45.7) 		6.6
(43.9) 		3.1
(37.6) 		−2.5
(27.5) 		−5.7
(21.7) 		−6.2
(20.8) 		−4.0
(24.8) 		−0.4
(31.3) 		3.3
(37.9) 		5.5
(41.9) 		7.3
(45.1) 		1.9
(35.4)
Record low °C (°F) 1.7
(35.1) 		−0.1
(31.8) 		−1.0
(30.2) 		−7.9
(17.8) 		−12.6
(9.3) 		−14.6
(5.7) 		−15.2
(4.6) 		−14.8
(5.4) 		−11.2
(11.8) 		−6.3
(20.7) 		−3.5
(25.7) 		0.4
(32.7) 		−15.2
(4.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 102.2
(4.02) 		67.9
(2.67) 		48.1
(1.89) 		6.8
(0.27) 		1.1
(0.04) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		1.2
(0.05) 		3.9
(0.15) 		14.4
(0.57) 		22.2
(0.87) 		63.2
(2.49) 		331.0
(13.03)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 15.1 12.1 9.3 2.2 0.4 0.1 0.1 0.2 1.0 3.3 6.3 11.4 61.5
Average snowy days 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.2
Average relative humidity (%) 62.6 63.2 60.3 46.0 32.6 27.4 25.7 26.7 32.1 42.4 48.6 55.8 43.6
Mean monthly sunshine hours 263.5 228.8 269.7 288.0 297.6 285.0 297.6 303.8 291.0 306.9 303.0 275.9 3,410.8
Percent possible sunshine 63.5 62.5 70.5 82.0 85.5 86.5 87.5 85.5 80.0 78.0 76.0 65.5 76.9
Source 1: Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (normals and extremes)[2][3][4]
Source 2: Secretaria de Mineria (sun 1961–1990)[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Datos Meteorológicos Registrados en las Distintas Estación de la Provincia de Jujuy" (in Spanish). Secretaria de Mineria de la Nacion (Argentina). Archived from the original on June 30, 2015. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
  2. ^ "Estadísticas Climatológicas Normales - período 1991-2020" (in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. Retrieved 2 Mar 2023.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ "Clima en la Argentina: Guia Climática por La Quiaca Obs". Caracterización: Estadísticas de largo plazo (in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 2 Mar 2023.

Notes