valley
A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...
located in the
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...
, north of
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the Capital city, capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata ...
(). It is about long, oriented north–south, bordered by the
Altiplano
The Altiplano (Spanish for "high plain"), Collao ( Quechua and Aymara: Qullaw, meaning "place of the Qulla") or Andean Plateau, in west-central South America, is the most extensive high plateau on Earth outside Tibet. The plateau is located a ...
in the west and north, by the Sub-
Andean
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S l ...
hills in the east, and by the warm valleys (''Valles Templados'') in the south.
The name ''quebrada'' (literally "broken") translates as a deep valley or
ravine
A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion.Humahuaca, a small city of 11,000 inhabitants. The Grande River ('' Río Grande''), which is dry in winter, flows copiously through the Quebrada in the summer.
The region has always been a crossroads for economic, social and cultural communication. It has been populated for at least 10,000 years, since the settlement of the first hunter-gatherers, which is evidenced by substantial prehistoric remains. In particular, many stone-walled agricultural terraces, thought to originate more than 1500 years ago, are found throughout the region and are still in use today. The field system links a series of fortified towns called ''pucaras''. The valley was later a caravan road for the
Inca Empire
The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, ( Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The adm ...
in the 15th century, then an important link between the
Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata ( es, Virreinato del Río de la Plata or es, Virreinato de las Provincias del Río de la Plata) meaning "River of the Silver", also called " Viceroyalty of the River Plate" in some scholarly writings, i ...
and the
Viceroyalty of Peru
The Viceroyalty of Peru ( es, Virreinato del Perú, links=no) was a Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in South America, governed fro ...
, as well as a stage for many battles of the Spanish War of Independence.
The Quebrada de Humahuaca was designated a protected landscape in 2000. UNEP-WCMC (2022). Protected Area Profile for Quebrada de Humahuaca from the World Database of Protected Areas. Accessed 11 April 2022 /ref> It was made a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
on 2 July 2003.
Pucará de Tilcara 01.JPG, Pucará de Tilcara
Serranía de Hornocal up close near Humahuaca.jpg, Hornocal
Cerro de los Siete Colores 05.jpg,
Cerro de los Siete Colores
Cerro de los Siete Colores (The Hill of Seven Colors) is one of the hills bordering the Quebrada de Purmamarca which is in turn is a western branch of the Quebrada de Humahuaca up to Cuesta del Lipán, in Jujuy Province, Argentina.
Its unique ...
Iruya
Iruya is a small town of population 1,070 in northwestern Argentina. It is located in the Salta Province
Salta () is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the east clockwise Formosa, ...
*
Abra Pampa
Abra Pampa is a town and municipality in Jujuy Province in Argentina,Ministerio del Interior and is the capital of th ...
Cerro de los Siete Colores
Cerro de los Siete Colores (The Hill of Seven Colors) is one of the hills bordering the Quebrada de Purmamarca which is in turn is a western branch of the Quebrada de Humahuaca up to Cuesta del Lipán, in Jujuy Province, Argentina.
Its unique ...
Serranía de Hornocal
The Serranía de Hornocal are a range of mountains located from the city of Humahuaca in the Argentine province of Jujuy. Exposed in the range is the limestone formation called Yacoraite that extends from Salta, Argentina, through the Argenti ...