Chuquiña

Chuquiña is a village in the department of Oruro in the South American Andes State of Bolivia.

Location in near space

Chuquiña is the central place of the Canton Chuquiña and most populous town of the district ( bolivian: municipality ) in the province of Toledo Saucarí. The village lies at an altitude Chuquiña of 3753 m on the right bank of the Río Desaguadero, which connects to the south in the Bolivian highlands of Lake Titicaca in the north with the Poopó lake.

Geography

Chuquiña located on the eastern edge of the Bolivian Altiplano before the high mountain range of the Cordillera Central. The vegetation of the region is sparse, for no more lush growth at this rate is possible. The region has a typical diurnal climate in which the daily temperature fluctuations are more pronounced than the temperature fluctuations between winter and summer.

The average annual temperature is in the long -term average at 8 ° C, the monthly values ​​vary between 4 ° C in June / July and 11 ° C in December (see climate chart Caracollo ). However, nocturnal freezing temperatures are possible at almost any time of year. The annual rainfall is low 400 mm, of April is a pronounced dry season until October and fall only from December to March precipitation of up to 100 mm in the monthly average. Due to the low rainfall, the sky is overcast and intense blue color.

Traffic network

Chuquiña located 52 kilometers by road from Oruro, the capital of the department of the same name.

From Oruro from the paved highway Ruta 1 leads north to La Paz Caracollo and five kilometers behind Oruro branches off a dirt road to the north-west in the direction of La Joya and crossed after 44 kilometers the Río Desaguadero. Directly behind the bridge, a three- kilometer spur road south to Chuquiña.

Population

The population of Chuquiña was subject to significant fluctuations over the past two decades:

Due to the historically evolved population structures, the Aymara population is predominant in Chuquiña, in the municipality of Toledo 83 percent of the population speak the Aymara language.

Resettlement

The mid-1980s began the Inti Raymi Mining Company Mining Company SA ( IRSA ) in the region Chuquiña and La Joya with the development of large deposits of oxide and sulphide of gold production. In order to develop the deposits was gradually eroded by the mountain Kori Kollo in Chuquiña and open pit and processing plant brought close to the place. In negotiations between the mining company and the villagers latter finally agreed a transfer of his home town. Thus, the village of Villa Nueva Chuquiña was built with 135 houses, market facilities, a health center and an educational center by the year 1999.