San Miguel de Tucumán

San Miguel de Tucumán (usually called simply Tucumán) is the capital of the Tucumán Province; it is in northern Argentina 1311 km from Buenos Aires. The Spanish Conquistador Diego de Villarroel founded the city in 1565 during an expedition from present-day Peru. The city was moved to its present site in 1685.

History
The city, with the name of San Miguel de Tucumán y Nueva Tierra de Promisión, was founded on 31 May 1565 by Diego de Villarroel in the place called Campos de Ibatín, about 60 km to the southwest of the present city. Then, in 1685, the town was moved to where it is now because of the low quality of the water.

On 24 September 1812, the Battle of Tucumán took place near the city, when the Spanish army was defeated by the army led by Manuel Belgrano. The act of the Independence was signed at the Casa de Tucumán ("Tucumán House").

Geography
The city is surrounded by the departments
 * Tafí Viejo to the north;
 * Cruz Alta to the east;
 * Lules to the south; and
 * Yerba Buena to the west.

The city is on the slopes of the Aconquija mountains along the Salí river. The altitude in the centre of the city is 450 m. It is the commercial centre of an irrigated area that produces sugarcane, rice, tobacco, and fruits.

San Miguel de Tucumán has an area of 90 km2 and a population of 548,866, in 2010, for a population density of inhabitants/km2.

Climate
San Miguel de Tucumán has a humid subtropical climate (subtype Cfa in the Köppen climate classification).

The average temperature for the year in San Miguel de Tucumán is 19.3 °C. The warmest month, on average, is January with an average temperature of 25.3 °C. The coolest month on average is July, with an average temperature of 12.1 °C.

The average amount of precipitation for the year in San Miguel de Tucumán is 1013.5 mm. The month with the most precipitation on average is January with 210.8 mm of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is July with an average of 10.2 mm.

Places of interest
Some interesting places in San Miguel de Tucumán are:
 * Plaza Independencia ("Independence square")
 * Casa de Gobierno de Tucumán ("Tucumán Government Palace")
 * Catedral de San Miguel de Tucumán ("San Miguel de Tucumán cathedral")
 * Basilica of San Francisco ("Saint Francis Basilica")
 * Casa de Tucumán ("Tucumán House" or "Independence House")

Twin towns
San Miguel de Tucumán is twinned with:
 * 🇮🇱 Nazareth Illit, Israel, since 1995
 * 🇧🇴 Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, since 1997
 * 🇧🇴 Sucre, Bolivia, since 2012
 * 🇩🇪 Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany, since 2012
 * Concepción, Chile, since 2013

Other websites

 * San Miguel de Tucumán official website
 * Ente Tucumán Turismo official website
 * Universidad Nacional de Tucumán Tucuman State University
 * Universidad del Norte Santo Tomas Aquino Tucuman Catholic University
 * Universidad Tecnologica Nacional (Tucuman Campus)