San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca () is a city in northwestern Argentina and capital of Catamarca Province, on the Río Valle River, at the feet of the Cerro Ambato. The city name is normally shortened as Catamarca. The city of , located above sea level, has 159,000 inhabitants (), with more than 200,000 counting the suburbia, what represents around 70% of the population of the province. The city is located from Buenos Aires. The closest provincial capitals are La Rioja (), Tucumán () and Santiago del Estero (). Many pilgrims come to San
Catamarca Province San Francisco pass and mules were bred for the Bolivian market in the 1910s. Mining was important in the past. After becoming less active in the early 1990s, grew to now account for over 20% of the economy. Catamarca is home to one of the largest copper gold mines in the world, Bajo de la Alumbrera, which produces approximately 600,000 ounces of gold and 190,000 tonnes of copper annually. The mine employs over 1,000 people and contributes hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes and royalties to the federal and provincial governments. The agriculture of Catamarca focuses on wood (walnut),