Tecka is a town in
Chubut Province
Chubut ( from Tehuelche language, Tehuelche 'transparent'; ) is a provinces of Argentina, province in southern Argentina, situated between the 42nd parallel south (the border with Río Negro Province), the 46th parallel south (bordering Santa ...
, Argentina, located south of
Esquel
Esquel is a town in the northwest of Chubut Province in Argentine Patagonia. It is located in Futaleufú Department, of which it is the government seat. Esquel is the home station for “La Trochita,” a historic narrow gauge railway known in En ...
and around west of
Rawson along
National Route 25. It is the seat of the
Languiñeo Department
Languiñeo Department is a department of Chubut Province in Argentina.
The provincial subdivision has a population of about 3,017 inhabitants in an area of 15,339 km2, and its capital city is Tecka, which is located around 1,899 km f ...
.
History
Tecka was a winter settlement of nomadic indigenous peoples, especially
Tehuelche people
The Tehuelche people, also called the Aónikenk, are an Indigenous people from eastern Patagonia in South America. In the 18th and 19th centuries the Tehuelche were influenced by Mapuche people, and many adopted a horseriding lifestyle. Once a ...
; it was later an important
Mapuche
The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...
encampment. One of the principal sites of interest in Tecka is the tomb of the
cacique
A cacique, sometimes spelled as cazique (; ; feminine form: ), was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, who were the Indigenous inhabitants of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles at the time of European cont ...
Inacayal (1835–88). Though Inacayal died in
La Plata
La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires province, Argentina. According to the 2022 Argentina census, census, the La Plata Partido, Partido has a population of 772,618 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 938,287 inhabit ...
after being imprisoned by the national government as part of the
Conquest of the Desert
The Conquest of the Desert () was an Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, Argentine military campaign directed mainly by General Julio Argentino Roca during the 1870s and 1880s with the intention of establishing dominance over Patagonia, inh ...
, his remains, which are displayed in a glass case, were brought many years later to Tecka, his place of origin.
The town of Tecka was officially founded on July 11, 1921.
Economy
Tecka has a predominantly agricultural economy, where there is extensive raising of sheep and pastures for the grazing of cows. In the surrounding area there are important ranches. Mining is a possibility for economic development in the future; there are prospected deposits of platinum, gold, basalt, semiprecious stones, and decorative rocks nearby. In terms of tourism, there is fishing in the
Pescado River, the
Tecka River basin, and nearby lakes. There is also horseback riding and trekking.
Demographics
Tecka had 955 inhabitants at the 2001 census, a decrease of 5.8% from the population of 1,014 recorded in the previous census in 1991.
External links
*{{Ar-mi-muni, CHU040
Pictures from Tecka
Populated places in Chubut Province
Populated places established in 1921
1921 establishments in Argentina