Rioja

Rioja, a western province of the Argentine Republic, with an area of 34,365 sq. m. and a pop. of about 80,000. Much of it is desert, but in the west there are very fertile Andes valleys, where wheat, maize, vines, cotton, and tropical fruits are grown. Copper, silver, and gold are mined.—RIOJA, the capital, founded in 1591, lies at the foot of the Sierra Velasco, among orange groves and vine-clad hills, 350 miles by rail NW. of Cordoba. Pop. 6000.