Salta

關於Salta

Salta is the capital and largest city in the Argentine province of the same name. With a population of 627,704 according to the 2022 census, it is also the 7th most-populous city in Argentina. The city serves as the cultural and economic center of the Valle de Lerma Metropolitan Area (Spanish: Área Metropolitana del Valle de Lerma, AMVL), which is home to over 50.9% of the population of Salta Province and also includes the municipalities of La Caldera, Vaqueros, Campo Quijano, Rosario de Lerma, Cerrillos, La Merced and San Lorenzo. Salta is the seat of the Capital Department, the most populous department in the province.

In early 1536 the large expedition of Diego de Almagro passed through the plains of Chicoana west of the present-day city in its journey to the lands of Chile. While foraging the expeditionaries came to engage in skirmishes with local tribesmen.

Salta was founded on April 16, 1582, by the Spanish conquistador Hernando de Lerma, who intended the settlement to be an outpost between Lima, Peru and Buenos Aires. The origin of the name Salta is a matter of conjecture, with several theories being advanced to explain it.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.