La Rioja, Argentina

La Rioja (Spanish pronunciation: [la ˈrjoxa] local pronunciation Spanish pronunciation: [la ˈʂjoxa]), founded as City of All Saints of New Rioja (in spanish: Ciudad de Todos los Santos de Nueva Rioja), is the capital and largest city of La Rioja Province, Argentina, located in the east of the province. The city and its eponymous province are named after La Rioja, a region in Spain.

La Rioja City of All Saints of New Rioja
City
Cathedral and Basilica of San Nicolás de La Rioja
La Rioja Location of La Rioja in Argentina
Coordinates: 29°24′45″S 66°51′15″W
Country	Argentina
Province	La Rioja
Department	Capital
Founded	1591
Elevation	515 m (1,690 ft)
Population  (2010 census [INDEC])
• Total	180,995
Time zone	UTC−3 (ART)
CPA base	F5300
Dialing code	+54 3822
Website	Official website

La Rioja is located on the foot of the Velasco Sierras, 1,167 km (725 mi) from Buenos Aires, and 430 km (267 mi) from Córdoba.

History

Monument to José de San Martín, in the Plaza 25 de Mayo.

It was founded in 1591 by Spanish conquistador, Juan Ramírez de Velasco.^[1]

Colonial architecture

Naindo Park Hotel

Geography

Climate

La Rioja has a semi-arid climate (BSh, according to the Köppen climate classification), with average temperatures of 5 °C (41 °F) to 19 °C (66 °F) in winter and 21 °C (70 °F) to 35 °C (95 °F) in summer, but with maximum temperatures of more than 45 °C (113 °F). The average annual rainfall is 411.4 mm (16 in), falling almost exclusively during the summer when moist tropical air from the northeast enters the region. The highest recorded temperature was 46.4 °C (115.5 °F) on 28 December 1971^[2] while the lowest recorded temperature was −7.2 °C (19.0 °F) on 5 August 1966.^[3]

Climate data for La Rioja, Argentina (Capitán Vicente Almandos Almonacid Airport) 1991–2020, extremes 1931–present
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	45.5 (113.9)	45.0 (113.0)	42.0 (107.6)	40.0 (104.0)	37.3 (99.1)	30.5 (86.9)	37.3 (99.1)	41.4 (106.5)	42.6 (108.7)	45.2 (113.4)	44.7 (112.5)	46.4 (115.5)	46.4 (115.5)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	35.2 (95.4)	33.2 (91.8)	30.8 (87.4)	26.8 (80.2)	22.6 (72.7)	19.7 (67.5)	19.5 (67.1)	23.3 (73.9)	26.9 (80.4)	30.8 (87.4)	33.6 (92.5)	35.4 (95.7)	28.2 (82.8)
Daily mean °C (°F)	27.6 (81.7)	26.0 (78.8)	23.9 (75.0)	19.8 (67.6)	15.3 (59.5)	11.4 (52.5)	10.6 (51.1)	14.2 (57.6)	18.4 (65.1)	22.8 (73.0)	25.6 (78.1)	27.6 (81.7)	20.3 (68.5)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	21.5 (70.7)	20.1 (68.2)	18.6 (65.5)	14.6 (58.3)	9.9 (49.8)	5.6 (42.1)	4.2 (39.6)	6.9 (44.4)	11.3 (52.3)	15.9 (60.6)	18.9 (66.0)	20.8 (69.4)	14.0 (57.2)
Record low °C (°F)	8.4 (47.1)	9.5 (49.1)	5.2 (41.4)	1.0 (33.8)	−3.0 (26.6)	−5.6 (21.9)	−6.9 (19.6)	−7.2 (19.0)	−2.5 (27.5)	3.5 (38.3)	3.3 (37.9)	7.7 (45.9)	−7.2 (19.0)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	90.3 (3.56)	78.8 (3.10)	63.4 (2.50)	30.8 (1.21)	8.2 (0.32)	4.0 (0.16)	4.2 (0.17)	3.3 (0.13)	5.5 (0.22)	19.5 (0.77)	32.0 (1.26)	66.9 (2.63)	406.9 (16.02)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm)	8.3	7.6	6.2	4.1	2.5	1.0	0.8	0.6	1.7	2.6	4.3	6.4	46.1
Average snowy days	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2
Average relative humidity (%)	59.9	63.9	67.9	70.0	71.1	70.3	63.2	52.2	47.6	49.3	51.5	54.4	60.1
Mean monthly sunshine hours	232.5	206.2	204.6	189.0	179.8	174.0	213.9	235.6	219.0	244.9	237.0	235.6	2,572.1
Mean daily sunshine hours	7.5	7.3	6.6	6.3	5.8	5.8	6.9	7.6	7.3	7.9	7.9	7.6	7.0
Percentage possible sunshine	62	64	57	60	62	60	65	73	64	65	66	62	63
Source 1: Servicio Meteorológico Nacional[4][5][6]
Source 2: Meteo Climat (record highs and lows),[3] UNLP (percent sun only 1971–1980)[7][8]

Sights

The Museo Folklórico is set in a 17th-century building, and its displays include local chaya music and the Tinkunaco festival.^[9] The 35,000-capacity Estadio Carlos Augusto Mercado Luna is located in La Rioja.

Transportation

The city is served by Capitán Vicente Almandos Almonacid Airport, with flights on Aerolíneas Argentinas.