La Rinconada, Peru
| La Rinconada | |||
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| View of the city
View of the city
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 La Rinconada
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| Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. | |||
| Country |  Peru |
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| Region | Puno | ||
| Province | San Antonio de Putina | ||
| District | Ananea | ||
| Elevation | 5,100 m (16,700 ft) | ||
| Population (2012) | |||
| • Total | 50,000 | ||
La Rinconada is a city in the Peruvian Andes located near a gold mine.[1] It is the highest elevation human habitation in the world.[2]
Contents
Geography
The city is located in the Ananea District, San Antonio de Putina Province. It lies at a height of 5,100 m (16,700 feet) above sea level. It sits at the foot of La Bella Durmiente, "The Sleeping Beauty" glacier. Miners who live in La Rinconada while working often have homes in Juliaca which has municipal services and is at a lower altitude.[3]
Climate
Located in the Andes, La Rinconada has an alpine climate (ET, according to the Köppen climate classification). The city has wet summers, dry winters and chilly to cold temperatures throughout the year, with snowfalls.
The average annual temperature in La Rinconada is 1.2 °C and the average annual rainfall is 707 mm.
| Climate data for La Rinconada | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 8.3 (46.9) |
7.7 (45.9) |
8.0 (46.4) |
8.6 (47.5) |
8.5 (47.3) |
8.2 (46.8) |
8.2 (46.8) |
9.6 (49.3) |
9.6 (49.3) |
11.0 (51.8) |
10.3 (50.5) |
8.7 (47.7) |
8.89 (48.02) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 2.6 (36.7) |
2.5 (36.5) |
2.4 (36.3) |
1.7 (35.1) |
0.5 (32.9) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
−1.5 (29.3) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
1.3 (34.3) |
2.5 (36.5) |
2.4 (36.3) |
2.7 (36.9) |
1.25 (34.25) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −3.1 (26.4) |
−2.6 (27.3) |
−3.2 (26.2) |
−5.1 (22.8) |
−7.5 (18.5) |
−11.6 (11.1) |
−11.2 (11.8) |
−10.3 (13.5) |
−7.0 (19.4) |
−5.9 (21.4) |
−5.5 (22.1) |
−3.3 (26.1) |
−6.36 (20.55) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 135 (5.31) |
113 (4.45) |
106 (4.17) |
50 (1.97) |
19 (0.75) |
7 (0.28) |
6 (0.24) |
15 (0.59) |
34 (1.34) |
51 (2.01) |
67 (2.64) |
104 (4.09) |
707 (27.84) |
| Source: Climate-data.org[4] | |||||||||||||
Population
From the year 2001 to 2009, the population grew to 30,000 inhabitants from just a small prospector camp because the price of gold rose 235% in the same time.[5]
Economy and infrastructure
The economy is mainly based on the production of gold from nearby gold mines, many artisanal.[3]
Many miners work at the gold mine owned by Corporación Ananea. Under the cachorreo system they work for 30 days without payment. On the 31st day they are allowed to take with them as much ore as they can carry on their shoulders.[5] Whether the ore contains any gold or not is a matter of luck. Pocketing of nuggets or promising chunks of rich ore is tolerated. Women are banned from the mines, but pallaqueras can be seen working though rock on the mine dumps.[3]
Environmental problems
The city has no plumbing and no sanitation system.[5] Besides having no sewage system there is significant contamination with mercury due to the mining practices. Local miners refine the ore by grinding and treating it with mercury and pressing the mass through a cloth to filter it. The resulting amalgam is heated to remove the mercury.
See also
- List of highest cities in the world
- Gorakshep - a base camp in Nepal at 5,164 m (16,942 ft), near Mount Everest.
References
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Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons
La Rinconada travel guide from Wikivoyage- Documentary film shown on www.dev.tv
- ↑ Altitude of Human Survivability, Maximum (Vertical Limit).
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 National Geographic Magazine, January 2009
