Before theSpanish conquest, numerous native peoples (now calledDiaguitas andCalchaquíes) lived in the valleys of what is now Salta Province; they formed many different tribes, theQuilmes and Humahuacas among them, which all shared theCacán language. TheAtacamas lived in thePuna, and theWichís (Matacos), in theChaco region.
The firstconquistador to venture into the area wasDiego de Almagro in 1535; he was followed by Diego de Rojas.Hernando de Lerma founded San Felipe de Lerma in 1582, following orders of the viceroyFrancisco de Toledo, Count of Oropesa; the name of the city was soon changed to "San Felipe de Salta". By 1650, the city had around five hundred inhabitants.
An intendency of "Salta del Tucumán" was created within theViceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. In 1774, San Ramón de La Nueva Orán was founded betweenSalta andTarija (Tarija was added to the intendency later, in 1807). In 1783, in recognition of the growing importance of the city, the capital of the intendency of Salta del Tucumán was moved fromSan Miguel de Tucumán to Salta.
Thebattle of Salta in 1813 freed the territory fromSpain, but occasional attacks were mounted from theViceroyalty of Peru as late as 1826. Gervasio de Posadas created the province of Salta in 1814, containing the current provinces of Salta,Jujuy, and parts of southernBolivia and northernChile.
The National Government of Los Andes, constituted from the province in 1902 with a capital atSan Antonio de los Cobres, was returned to Salta Province in 1943 as the Department ofLos Andes.
Antonio Alice's painting,La muerte deGüemes, which received a gold medal at the Centenary Exposition, is on display at the offices of the Salta Provincial Government.[4]
The total land area of the province is 155,488 km2 (60,034 sq mi), making it the sixth largest province by area in Argentina.[5]: 14–15 The main rivers of the province are thePilcomayo,Bermejo, and the Juramento, which later becomes theSalado River.[5]: 15 Salta Province is located at a geologically active region, and suffers from occasionalearthquakes. There have been four earthquakes of note in the province:
Although Salta Province is located near theTropic of Capricorn, it has a wide range of climates due to variation in altitude and the influence of orography.[7] The orientation of theAndes influences the distribution of precipitation within the province.[7]
The easternmost parts of the province have ahot semi-arid climate (KöppenBSh) with a rainy season in the summer.[7][8] The mean annual temperature and precipitation are 20 °C (68.0 °F) and 500 millimetres (19.7 in).[7][8] Temperatures can reach up to 47 °C or 116.6 °F during summer, while they can fall down to −5 °C or 23 °F during winter.[7][8]
The first slopes of the Andes force the moist, easterly winds to rise, provoking very high condensation leading to the formation of clouds that generate copious amounts of rain.[9] The eastern slopes of the mountains receive between 1,000 to 1,500 mm (39 to 59 in) of precipitation a year, although some places receive up to 2,500 mm (98 in) of precipitation annually owing toorographic precipitation.[9][10] Most of the precipitation is concentrated in the summer, with winters being dry.[11] The high rainfall on these first slopes creates athick jungle that extends in a narrow strip along these ranges, creating an area of great species diversity.[7][11] At higher altitudes on these slopes, the climate is cooler and more humid, with the vegetation consisting of deciduous and pine trees.[11]
Between the high altitudes to the west and the low plains to the east lie the valleys.[8] The climate of these valleys is eitherhumid subtropical with dry winters (KöppenCwa) orsubtropical highland (Cwb), favouring human settlement and agricultural activities.[8] Mean annual precipitation is around 1,000 mm (39 in), most of it during summer.[8] Mean temperatures exceed 20 °C (68.0 °F) during the summer, while during winter, they are below 14 °C (57.2 °F).[8]
Further west, the Altiplano is a plateau at 3,000 to 4,000 metres (9,800 to 13,100 ft) above sea level. This region has acool semi-arid climate (KöppenBSk): high temperatures vary little (since the warmer season is cloudy, and the cooler sunny), ranging from 14 to 21 °C or 57.2 to 69.8 °F; night temperatures go from 6 °C or 42.8 °F in midsummer, to −8 °C or 17.6 °F in midwinter, and extremes under −15 °C or 5 °F might be recorded. All rain falls exclusively in the summer, with annual totals between 200 and 400 millimetres or 8 and 16 inches. Several salt flats exist in this area.
The highest altitudes found in the western parts of the province have acool arid climate (KöppenBWk), with largediurnal ranges (temperature range between day and night).[7]
A winery located between the mountains inCafayate.
Salta's economy is relatively underdeveloped, yet diverse. Its economy in 2006 was estimated at US$5.141 billion or, US$4,764 per capita, 45% below the national average.[12] In 2012, its economy was estimated at $30.613 billionpesos (about US$6.743 billion) or $23,971 pesos (about US$5,280) per capita.[13][14]
Agriculture and its derived industries are still an important activity in the province, adding over 10% to output.Tobacco,sugar cane andviticulture are the most important and produce most of the exports from the area. Other crops mostly for local consumption aremaize,beans,citrus,bananas, andtomatoes. The sugar cane is processed in plants in Salta before it is sent to the rest of Argentina and other countries. The plant in San Martín de Tabacal is the most important of them. The famous wines of theValles Calchaquíes region (mainlyTorrontés,Malbec andCabernet Sauvignon) nearCafayate are produced in numerousvineyards of diverse sizes. American breeds ofcattle are raised only on the humid subtropical east, along with somesheep andgoats.
The Salta province is home to a number of natural, social and historic attractions.
The provincial capital city, also named Salta and nicknamed "La Linda" ("The beautiful") is both an important tourist destination, and the centre point for visiting the rest of the province. The city holds different attractions; among them are its colonial houses and cathedral, and theMuseum of High Altitude Archaeology (Spanish:Museo de Arqueología de Alta Montaña de Salta) that holds the three frozenIncamummies found at theLlullaillaco volcano and known as theChildren of Llullaillaco .
TheTren a las Nubes ("Train to the Clouds") crosses canyons and cliffs before arriving at the 3,775 metres altitude (12,500 feet) ofSan Antonio de los Cobres. The red-rock formations of theValles Calchaquíes and the wine-town ofCafayate are the second most visited place in the province. Many visit theCachi mountains and the villages (such asPayogasta) around it.
According to the results from the 2010census[INDEC], the province has a population of 1,214,441.[16] It constitutes 3.0% of the total population in Argentina.[18]: 63 This represented a 12.5% increase in the population compared to 2001census[INDEC] which had 1,079,051 inhabitants.[19] 6.5% of the population or 79,204 persons declared themselves as havingIndigenous background,[20]: 69 making it one of the provinces that has a high percentage of indigenous people, being ranked 5th behindChubut,Neuquén,Jujuy andRío Negro.[18]: 278 The most populous indigenous groups in the province are theWichí, which make up 24.9% of the total indigenous population followed by theKolla (21.6%), and theGuaraní (13.7%).[20]: 69 As well, only 4,189 persons declared themselves to beAfro-Argentine.[21]
The province is governed asrepresentative and republican form of government.[5]: 14 The provincial government is divided into three branches: the executive, headed by a popularly elected governor, who appoints the cabinet; thelegislative; and thejudiciary, headed by the Supreme Court.
The province is divided in 23departments (Spanish:departamentos), containing 59 municipalities (Spanish:municipios).[22] The capital of the province is the city of Salta, which is where the provincial government is located at.[22]
^Parker, William Belmont (1920).Argentines of today. Volume 5 of Hispanic Notes and Monographs. Vol. 2 (Digitized May 22, 2008 ed.). New York: The Hispanic Society of America. pp. 637–640.ISBN9780722295779.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
^abcdefg"Información del Clima" (in Spanish). Ministerio de Cultura y Turismo de la Provincia de Salta. Archived fromthe original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved15 December 2015.
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