Andalgalá is a city in the west-center of the province of Catamarca, Argentina, located in a valley near the Sierra de Aconquija, 260 km from the provincial capital San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca. It has about 14,000 inhabitants as per the 2001 census [INDEC]. It is the head town of the department of the same name. The Andalgalá River, which flows nearby, supports a hydroelectric power plant.

Ciudad de Andalgalá
Aerial view
Aerial view
Ciudad de Andalgalá is located in Argentina
Ciudad de Andalgalá
Ciudad de Andalgalá
Location of Andalgalá in Argentina
Coordinates: 27°36′S 66°19′W / 27.600°S 66.317°W / -27.600; -66.317
Country Argentina
Province Catamarca
DepartmentAndalgalá
Elevation
960 m (3,150 ft)
Population
 (2001 census)
 • Total
14,068
Time zoneUTC−3 (ART)
CPA base
K4740
Dialing code+54 3835

Andalgalá was founded as a fort on 12 July 1658, and only became a city in 1952. Its name is of Quechua origin and means either "Lord of the Hare" or "Lord of the High Mountain".

Climate

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According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Andalgalá has a hot arid climate, abbreviated BWh on climate maps, although it is only 0.3 °C or 0.5 °F hotter than the threshold that would categorize it as a cool arid climate, and only a little too dry to qualify as a semi-arid climate.[1] Precipitation is mainly concentrated from November to March with 80% of the annual precipitation occurring in these months.[2]

Climate data for Andalgalá (1901–1960)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 43.4
(110.1)
43.1
(109.6)
39.9
(103.8)
38.7
(101.7)
36.3
(97.3)
35.3
(95.5)
37.2
(99.0)
39.3
(102.7)
39.9
(103.8)
42.2
(108.0)
41.9
(107.4)
43.3
(109.9)
43.4
(110.1)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 33.7
(92.7)
32.3
(90.1)
30.1
(86.2)
26.2
(79.2)
21.7
(71.1)
18.3
(64.9)
18.7
(65.7)
21.5
(70.7)
25.5
(77.9)
28.9
(84.0)
31.9
(89.4)
33.7
(92.7)
26.9
(80.4)
Daily mean °C (°F) 25.1
(77.2)
24.0
(75.2)
21.9
(71.4)
17.9
(64.2)
13.7
(56.7)
9.9
(49.8)
10.0
(50.0)
12.7
(54.9)
16.7
(62.1)
20.1
(68.2)
22.9
(73.2)
25.0
(77.0)
18.3
(64.9)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 18.4
(65.1)
17.7
(63.9)
15.7
(60.3)
11.3
(52.3)
7.2
(45.0)
3.7
(38.7)
3.3
(37.9)
5.2
(41.4)
8.9
(48.0)
12.3
(54.1)
15.4
(59.7)
17.4
(63.3)
11.4
(52.5)
Record low °C (°F) 8.7
(47.7)
9.1
(48.4)
4.8
(40.6)
−1.8
(28.8)
−3.1
(26.4)
−4.7
(23.5)
−6.2
(20.8)
−5.7
(21.7)
−2.5
(27.5)
1.7
(35.1)
2.1
(35.8)
4.9
(40.8)
−6.2
(20.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 75.5
(2.97)
64.8
(2.55)
45.7
(1.80)
15.8
(0.62)
8.4
(0.33)
4.4
(0.17)
5.4
(0.21)
5.2
(0.20)
4.8
(0.19)
13.7
(0.54)
18.7
(0.74)
35.3
(1.39)
297.5
(11.71)
Average relative humidity (%) 53.0 60.2 62.8 64.2 64.3 63.5 55.2 48.2 46.7 50.0 50.2 51.7 55.8
Mean monthly sunshine hours 291 234 248 223 230 176 205 223 254 275 273 264 2,897
Percent possible sunshine 69 64 65 65 69 56 62 64 70 70 67 62 65
Source 1: Secretaria de Mineria[2]
Source 2: FAO (sun only)[3]

References

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  1. ^ "Climate Summary for Andalgala". Weatherbase.
  2. ^ a b "Provincia de Catamarca — Clima Y Meteorologia: Datos Meteorológicos Registrados en la estación Andalgalá en el periodo 1901–1960" (in Spanish). Secretaria de Mineria de la Nacion (Argentina). Archived from the original on October 4, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  3. ^ "Cuadro 13: Sumas Mensuales y Anuales de las Horas de Sol Efectivas y Porcentaje de los Totales de Horas de Sol" (PDF). Estudio Sobre la Rehabilitacion de Tierras en el Valle de Viedma: Informed Final–Volumen II (in Spanish). Food and Agriculture Organization. p. 97. Retrieved July 13, 2015.