JUJUY, a northern province of the Argentine Republic, bounded N. and
N.W. by Bolivia, N.E., E., S. and S.W. by Salta, and W. by the Los Andes
territory. Pop. (1895), 49,713; (1905, estimate), 55,450, including many
mestizos. Area, 18,977 sq. m., the greater part being mountainous. The
province is traversed from N. to S. by three distinct ranges belonging
to the great central Andean plateau: the Sierra de Santa Catalina, the
Sierra de Humahuaca, and the Sierras de Zenta and Santa Victoria. In the
S.E. angle of the province are the low, isolated ranges of Alumbre and
Santa Barbara. Between the more eastern of these ranges are valleys of
surpassing fertility, watered by the Rio Grande de Jujuy, a large
tributary of the Bermejo. The western part, however, is a high plateau
(parts of which are 11,500 ft. above sea-level), whose general
characteristics are those of the _puna_ regions farther west. The
surface of this high plateau is broken, semi-arid and desolate, having a
very scanty population and no important industry beyond the breeding of
a few goats and the fur-bearing chinchilla. There are two large saline
lagoons: Toro, or Pozuelos, in the N., and Casabindo, or Guayatayoc, in
the S. The climate is cool, dry and healthy, with violent tempests in
the summer season. (For a vivid description of this interesting region,
see F. O'Driscoll, "A Journey to the North of the Argentine Republic,"
_Geogr. Jour._ xxiv. 1904.) The agricultural productions of Jujuy
include sugar cane, wheat, Indian corn, alfalfa and grapes. The breeding
of cattle and mules for the Bolivian and Chilean markets is an old
industry. Coffee has been grown in the department of Ledesma, but only
to a limited extent. There are also valuable forest areas and
undeveloped mineral deposits. Large borax deposits are worked in the
northern part of the province, the output in 1901 having been 8000 tons.
The province is traversed from S. to N. by the Central Northern railway,
a national government line, which has been extended to the Bolivian
frontier. It passes through the capital and up the picturesque Humahuaca
valley, and promises, under capable management, to be an important
international line, affording an outlet for southern Bolivia. The
climate of the lower agricultural districts is tropical, and irrigation
is employed in some places in the long dry season.
The capital, Jujuy (estimated pop. 1905, 5000), is situated on the Rio
Grande at the lower end of the Humahuaca valley, 942 m. from Buenos
Aires by rail. It was founded in 1593 and is 4035 ft. above sea-level.
It has a mild, temperate climate and picturesque natural surroundings,
and is situated on the old route between Bolivia and Tucuman, but its
growth has been slow.
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