Jujuy province is located on the northwest edge of Argentina, sharing boundaries with Bolivia and Chile on the north and west respectively, the southwest limit is Salta province.
Between parallels 21° 47' and 24° 38' (south latitude) and the meridians 64° 8' and 67°19' (west longitude), Jujuy province is divided by Capricorn tropic into two halves, covering a 53,219 square kilometers surface. It has about 700,000 inhabitants meaning 13.15 inhabitants per square kilometer.
One characteristic of this territory are the height differences and that’s why we find town located between 350 and 4,000 meters over the sea level and we also find up to 6,200 meters peaks.
The word ‘Jujuy’ has some different etymological meanings. According to some erudites it means ‘voice of joy or happiness’, but it might also be HU-HUY or JUJUY in Quechua language which means ‘scream of happiness’. Another meaning is the one that comes from the term LLULLUY which means ‘what stays soft and tender’ due to the lands features with rivers and humus that comes especially from the highland. The territory presents a relief with strong differential heights.
The very well marked regions are:
Altiplano Jujeño (Jujuy highland):
It is about the 60% of the territory of the province, formed by a very high plateau well known as ‘La Puna’ with an average heith of about 3,500 meters.
Quebrada de Humahuaca:
Located on the central part of the province and crossed by the Rio Grande river. The heights goes from 600 meters to 3,700 meters at Tres Cruces.
Serranías del Oeste (west mountains):
The west hillsides of the mountain ranges Zenta, Centinela and Zarca. Their height reaches 4,500 meters on the Calilegua mount with dense forest and difficult access.
Serranías del Este (east mountains):
The mountain ranges of Santa Barbara, Centinela, and Maíz Gordo with more than 3,000 meters at some points. The height decreases toward the east falling into the plains of the ‘Chaco Salteño’ with wide valleys.
Central area:
The central area is formed by the valleys of the rivers San Francisco and Lavayen, with heights in the range of 350 / 900 meters being the most plain part of the province and having good agricultural features.