Argentine Northwest

Valles Calchaquíes, Salta Province.

The Argentine Northwest (Noroeste Argentino) is a region of Argentina composed by the provinces of Catamarca, Jujuy, Salta, Santiago del Estero and Tucumán.

Geography

Tafí Valley, Tucumán.

Cerro de los Siete Colores, Jujuy Province.

The region had 5 different biomes:

• Sub-Andean humid Sierras of the east
• Fertile valleys
• The canyons
• The high mountains of the Andes
• The Altiplano or Puna

Outside the Yungas jungle on the east, near the Gran Chaco region, the only fertile lands are those near the basins of the rivers . Ancient rivers created a series of red-soil canyons such as the Quebrada de Humahuaca and the Valles Calchaquíes. The high peaks of the Andes reach heights of over 6,000 meters, and the 3,500-meter high plateau of La Puna or Altiplano extends further north to Bolivia.

Weather

The eastern winds drop their humidity at the sub-Andean Sierras and eastern slopes of the Andes. These areas have a sub-tropical warm weather with abundant rains that, as in the Yungas jungle.

The dried-up winds continue their path to the west, leaving the Puna and the western side of the arid Andes steppe with wide temperature differences, something that characterizes most of the region.

Precipitation in most of the Argentine northwest follows a summer monsoon pattern, enjoying most of the roughly 700 millimetres (28 in) of annual rainfall in the southern hemisphere summer months of December through March.^[1]

Economy

The fertile valleys concentrate most of the population of the area, and the economic activities. Of these, the cultivation of sugarcane, tobacco, and citrus are the most important, together with cattle and goat raising. There are also important vineyards at the Valles Calchaquíes on the Cafayate region.

Main industries are sugarcane or food associated, except for the Altos Hornos Zapala steel furnace.

Mining includes lead, silver, zinc and salt, and hydrocarbons extraction.

Tourism

The Argentine Northwest is visited not only by Argentines but by people from all over the world, specially Europeans. The most common destination are Quebrada de Humahuaca and the Cerro de los Siete Colores, Cafayate and the Valles Calchaquíes, Tafí del Valle, and the capital cities of the provinces: San Miguel de Tucumán, San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca, Salta and San Salvador de Jujuy.

The national parks of the region are: Baritú National Park, Calilegua National Park, El Rey National Park, Los Cardones National Park and Campo de los Alisos National Park.

Cultural tourism

Besides the geography of the area, its culture is of great interest. It is strongly influenced by Quechua and Aymara cultures, and the region widely differentiates to the more European Buenos Aires.

This influence can be seen in the music, clothing and customs of the people.

See also

• 1948 Salta earthquake

References

External links

• The Andean northwest
• Argentine Northwest (Spanish)
• Map with routes
• Monografias.com:Argentine Northwest (Spanish)
• Argentine Northwest art (Spanish)