TERRITORY
In Northwestern Argentina, the Catamarca territory extends between 25º 12’ and 30º 40’ south latitude and from 64º 55′ up to 69º 28’ west longitude. It leans on the Andes Chain that serves as a border separating it from Chile as well as the Pacific Ocean. In all, it covers an area of 103.754 km2. Catamarca is characterized by uneven relief, with different altitudes covering about 80% of its area. Mountain ranges run parallel to the Andes Chain latitudinally. These ranges create a geographical and climatic barrier that separates parallel regions heading from northwest to southeast.
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OF CATAMARCA PROVINCE
There are 16 departments in the province, which are in turn divided into 36 municipalities. Listed below are the regional and micro-regional divisions
REGIONAL AND MICRO-REGIONAL DIVISIONS
THE CENTRE REGION
It is comprised of the conglomerate known as Gran Catamarca, which includes the departments Capital, Valle Viejo, Fray Mamerto Esquiú, and the area of influence known as Gran Catamarca, including Ambato, Capayán, and Paclín
Its departmental capital, San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca, is bordered on the northeast with Ambato and Capayán departments, on the south with Capayán, and on the west with Valle Viejo and Fray Mamerto Esquiú departments. It is an important political, cultural, and commercial centre, and home to the university, numerous institutions, and museums. There is only one municipality within the Capital of Catamarca department.
San Isidro is the head of the department. It is bordered to the north by Fray Mamerto Esquiú and Paclín departments, to the south by Capayán department, to the east by El Alto and Ancasti departments, and to the west by Capital department. There is a 7 km distance between the provincial capital and the departmental head.
To the north, it shares borders with Ambato department, to the south with Valle Viejo department, to the east with Paclín department and to the west with Capital department. About 12 kilometres separate the provincial capital from the departmental capital.
The departmental head is Chumbicha. On the north, it borders Ambato and Capital departments, on the south, the provinces of La Rioja and Córdoba, on the east, Valle Viejo, Ancasti, and La Paz departments, and on the west, Pomán department. Agriculture, livestock, and tourism constitute its major economic activities. It is 66 kilometres away from the capital. It is divided into two municipalities:
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- Capayán
- Huillapima
It borders to the north with Andalgalá department and Tucumán province, to the south with Capayán, Capital and Fray Mamerto Esquiú departments, to the east with Paclín department and Tucumán province, and to the west with Andalgalá and Pomán departments. Through the region, agriculture, livestock, artisan handicrafts, and tourism stand out. The departmental head is 46 km from the capital. The department consists of four municipalities:
- El Rodeo
- La Puerta
- Las Juntas
- Los Varelas
It borders Tucumán province to the north, Valle Viejo department to the south, Santa Rosa and El Alto departments to the east, and Fray Mamerto Esquiú and Ambato departments to the west. The distance from the capital to the departmental head is 59 km.
THE WEST REGION
According to the departmental boundaries, there are four microregions within the department: Santa Mara microregion, Belén microregion, Tinogasta microregion, and Andalgalá-Pomán microregion. These are the municipalities included in each department:
It is located to the east of the western zone of Catamarca province, limits to the north with Santa María department, to the east with Tucumán province; to the west with Belén department and to the south with Pomán and Ambato departments. Andalgalá City is located 330 km from the provincial capital. The city is accessible by both roads 46 and 38. It has 2 municipalities:
- Aldalgalá
- Aconquija
It is located between the western and central regions of the province. It borders the north with Andalgalá, the east with Ambato and Capayán, the west with Belén and Tinogasta, and the south with La Rioja. Villa de Pomán is the departmental head. From the provincial capital, it is 235 km away. It is accessible via roads EN 38 and RP 25. It is divided into three municipalities:
- Pomán
- Mutquín
- Saujil
In the north, it shares a border with Salta province, to the east, with Tucumán province, to the south, with Andalgalá department, and to the west, with Belén department. By road 38, it is located 331 km from the provincial capital. There are two municipalities:
- Santa María
- San José
It is located between the western and puna regions of the province. It is limited to the north with Antofagasta de la Sierra, to the east with Belén and Andalgalá, to the west and south with La Rioja province. There are two roads leading to it, RP N° 60 and R N° 38, which distance it 309 km from the provincial capital. Tinogasta is divided into two municipalities:
- Tinogasta
- Fiambalá
It is located on the boundary between the west and puna regions of the province. This department borders the north with Salta province, to the east with Santa María and Andalgalá departments, to the west with Tinogasta department, and to the south with part of Tinogasta department. The departmental capital is Belén city, and it is located 326 km from the provincial capital by roads RNNº 40 and RNNº 38. Belén has nine municipalities:
- Belén
- Corral Quemado
- Hualfín
- Londres
- Pozo de Piedra
- Puerta de Corral Quemado
- Puerta de San José
- San Fernando
- Villa Vil
THE PUNA REGION
It has a unique microregion which corresponds to Antofagasta de la Sierra department.
Is located in the northeast of the province, in the Puna region. Neighboring province In the north is Salta, in the south Tinogasta department, in the east Belen department and a portion of Salta, and in the west The Chilean Republic. Mining and touristic activities are outstanding in this region. Its capital city is Villa de Antofagasta de la Sierra. Distance from capital to the capital city: 595 km.
EAST REGION
It consists of microregions which include La Paz and the microregion Santa Rosa-El Alto grouping the departments according to their shared physical and cultural characteristics.
- it is located in the south-east of the province and it borders in the north with El Alto department, in the northeast and east with Santiago del Estero province; in the northwest it borders with Ancasti department, in the southeast with Capayan department, towards the south with Cordoba province. Its capital city is Recreo city, it is located 230 km from the province capital. It has 2 municipalities:
- Recreo
- Icaño
it is located between the East region and Centre of the province, 90 km from the capital city. It borders in the north with El Alto, in the East with La Paz, in the west with Capayan and in the northwest with Valle viejo.
it is located in the east of the province. It borders in the north with Tucuman province, in the south with El Alto department, in the east with Santiago del Estero province and in the west with Paclin department. It has 2 municipalities:
- Bañado de Ovanta
- Los Altos
it borders in the north with Santa Rosa department, in the east with Santiago del Estero province, in the south with La Paz and Ancasti departments, in the west with Paclin and Valle Viejo. It has 2 municipalities:
- El Alto
- Tapso
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PROVINCIAL TERRITORY
Catamarca stands out for its great geographic and climatic diversity that is reflected in steppes, jungles, valleys, prairies, deserts, puna, lagoons, salt flats and ros that combine majestically with its mountains and multicolored volcanoes of vegetation, minerals, salts and sand.
Among the province’s outstanding natural resources we find:
- A biosphere reserve in Laguna Blanca, (Belen).
- Three protected areas in Laguna Blanca (Belén), Campo de Piedra Pómez (Antofagasta de la Sierra) and Sierras de Belén (Belén).
- A private protected area integrated to the network of refuges of the Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina in Refugio Merced de Allpatauca (Fray Mamerto Esquiu).
- The highest dune in the world in Tatón (Fiambalá).
- One of the world’s largest salt deserts of 8,000 km2 in La Paz.
- A “Ramsar Site” area in the Puna high Andean lagoons in Belén and Antofagasta de la Sierra.
- 19 volcanoes over 6,000 meters high and the highest volcano in the world. Ojos del Salado in Fiambalá.
- In diverse zones of the Ramsar sites and Natural Reserves, the flora and fauna, maintain their original conditions and some manifest inhospitable characteristics of our planet of more than 3,500 million years ago.
There are 3 geologically differentiated zones: 1) the Puna, which occupies the northwestern portion of the province with high mountain ranges, large salt flats and imposing volcanoes, 2) the Cordillera Central, which occupies the southwestern part of the province and is more than six thousand meters high, and 3) the Pampean Sierras, which occupy the rest of the province.
Catamarca has 70% of its territory of mountainous relief rich in mineral resources, with several water basins, many of them thermal, which flow into intermountain valleys.
Catamarca province is highly conditioned by mountain ranges that constitute physical barriers which hold wind, provoke rain, creating river basins and also determining the weather. The territory is covered by narrow valleys that can be expanded into wider valleys or emerge on the verge of The Andes. This relief contrasts from the Poman salt mines, a vast whitish plain that separates the western group from the Aconquija system. Las Salinas Grandes, almost 5.000 Km2 hollow, from a brine soil where the vegetation is almost absent.
Topography of the Province of Catamarca
The province’s weather corresponds to a continental mild weather with an annual average rainfall that ranges around 400 and 500 mm, with a marked decrease towards the west, partially compensated by snowy precipitations. Another particular feature of the weather, and it is highly relevant, is that we find microclimate made up by variations in the type of relief (plains, pockets and mountain ranges).
The total average annual rainfall is a key factor to determine the availability of water, existing factors that have influence such as evaporation, evapotranspiration, infiltration,etc that condition in a significant way the availability of the water volume. From 34724 Hm3 of precipitated water, around 700 and 800 Hm3 recharge annually the underground aquifers and the rest is lost by evaporation, evapotranspiration, deep aquifers, vegetation, etc.
Catamarca is divided into 9 water basins, based on the land portion of the territory which is drained by an unique natural drained system.
ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE
The provincial territory structure is the result of a historical complex process of settlement and human ownership of the land.
The urban centres and its areas of rural influence were articulated in the prehispanic period by ancient paths. The colony period includes Spanish founded cities, settled in strategic places from natural support. The human settlements are linked to the oeases from the west, valleys and water stream in the centre, pastures in the high areas from the east, and the railway laying in the east valley. These areas, currently, share resources and infrastructure making interurban systems more or less complex that are specifically linked inside and outside the province.
The road network is conditioned by the topography, consolidating most of the economic,administrative and service activities in The Gran Catamarca area; where the micro regional systems are influenced by capital municipalities where the commercial offer and services are concentrated. These also receive external influences from other cities of higher hierarchy or situated regional influences inside and outside the provincial territory.
The main road network joins El Valle Central to Cordoba, Cuyo and the Argentinian north through the national roads 38 and 33. The western province is linked with Valles Calchaquies, in the north and Chilecito and Famatina in the south, through Ruta Nacional 40. It highlights the existence of an outlet to the Pacific, in the west, through Ruta Nacional 45-Nac 60. Recreo city, in the east region is linked to the Argentinian north and Cordoba through Ruta Nacional 157.
From the transportation point of view, the catamarqueñan territory has relatively big distances, with a strong urban concentration in Gran Catamarca, main centre of the capital city and six intermediate hot-spots, scattered in the west zone and east of its geography. The irregular type of relief impinges on inner transportations, not only in the infrastructure laying but also in the means of operation. This particular trait is distinguished in the current configuration of the transportation system and the provision of existent means.
Air connectivity is established through Catamarca’s airport that is part of the nacional network, operating an airline that connects to Buenos Aires. The provincial departments have landing strips in Tinogasta, Santa María, Fiambalá, Londres-Belén, Andalgalá y Antofagasta de la Sierra, without scheduled flights.
The railway service currently operates in the province East region, through the only working branch, that links Tucumán – Frías – Recreo – Córdoba, for load transfer, with a two weekly trains frequency.
The province capital is linked to Cordoba province through a branch that crossed the east region. Recreo city runs a branch that links Esquiú, La Guardia, Casa de Piedra, Carranza y Chumbicha, where another branch runs and it links this city with the province capital. The west region links La Rioja (Serrezuela, Patquia, Bazán, Cebollar, Mazan, Aimogasta) to Tinogasta. Mazan, which is in La Rioja, runs another branch that links Andalgalá-Pomán, Sijan-Pajonal y Colpes, among other stations. .
The following map shows the relationship between the current road and railway system in relationship to urban nodes:
Road Infrastructure Diagram of the province
