La Quiaca is a small city in the north of the, on the southern bank of the La Quiaca River, opposite the town of Villazón, Bolivia. It lies at the end of National Route 9, 289 km from San Salvador de Jujuy (the provincial capital), and at an altitude of 3442 m above mean sea level. La Quiaca has 13,761 inhabitants as per the. It is the head town of the Yaví Department, which includes also the towns of Barrios, Cangrejillos, El Cóndor, Pumahuasi, and Yaví. The area is serviced by an airport located at -22.15056°N, -65.5775°W. La Quiaca is an approximate antipode to Hong Kong. It has all the amenities of a modern city (potable water, electricity, sewer, Internet). This city is one of the north of the Puna which has all the basic facilities for the convenience of tourists, one of the most important urban settlement in northern Argentina. In the country, this city is the classic reference to the northern end of the country, though in reality this distinction is held by the town of Salvador Mazza, or Pocitos, in the province of Salta. In 1985, after a three-year national tour, the renowned composer León Gieco released a folk album called De Ushuaia a La Quiaca ("From Ushuaia to La Quiaca").

Geography

Climate

In spite of its location within the tropics, because it is located at over 3400 m above sea level, La Quiaca has a cold semi-arid climate (BSk, according to the Köppen climate classification), with an annual precipitation of 351.6 mm. During winter months, temperatures during the day are mild, averaging 14.7 C in July while the nights can get freezing cold, with temperatures dropping well below 0 C. Precipitation is rare during the winter months although snowfalls are possible. During the summer months, temperatures during the day are mild to warm, averaging 19 to 20 C although nighttime temperatures can remain cool. Most of the precipitation that La Quiaca receives falls during the summer months. It is possibly the sunniest place in Argentina, averaging 3410 hours of sunshine or 76.9% of possible sunshine ranging from a low of 62.5% in February to a high of 87.5% in July. The highest temperature recorded was 28.8 C on February 4, 1998, while the lowest temperature was -15.2 C.