Punata Province
| Punata Province | |
|---|---|
| Province | |
 Location of the Punata Province within Bolivia |
|
 Provinces of the Cochabamba Department |
|
| Coordinates: 17°35′0″S 66°15′0″W / 17.58333°S 66.25000°W | |
| Country |
 Bolivia
|
| Department | Cochabamba |
| Capital | Punata |
| Area | |
| • Total | 330 sq mi (850 km2) |
| Elevation | 9,020 ft (2,750 m) |
| Population (2001) | |
| • Total | 47,735 |
| • Density | 146/sq mi (56.2/km2) |
Punata is a province almost in the middle of the Cochabamba Department, Bolivia, located about 45 km south of the city of Cochabamba. Its capital is Punata. The province is limited to the north by the Chapare Province, to the north-east by the Tiraque Province, to the east by the Arani Province, to the south-east by the Mizque Province, to the south by the Esteban Arze Province and to the west by the Germán Jordán Province.
Its archaeological and historical sites are the main interest for foreign tourists.
Punata Province is divided into five municipalities which are partly further subdivided into cantons.
The people are predominantly indigenous citizens of Quechuan descent. By 2001 census was counted 47735 inhabitants and it rose to 54409 inhabitants by the 2012 census. The economic center is the city of Punata with 28707 inhabitants.
Ref: obd.descentralizacion.gov.bo
The languages spoken in the Punata Province are mainly Quechua and Spanish. The following table shows the number of those belonging to the recognized group of speakers.
Reference: The Punata-Tiraque irrigation project near Cochabamba, Bolivia
The alluvial fan of Punata in the Valle Alto is fed by The Rio Paracaya river with a high average discharge. Consequently the fan is fairly flat.
The region of Punata, at the upper end of the Valle Alto, at about 2800 m altitude, has a summer rainfall of 400 to 450 mm starting in the second half of November end ending in March. Maize is here the most important food crop, followed by potatoes. Alfalfa is the dominant fodder crop, followed by maize straw. (Fig. P1). These crops could, of old, only be planted successfully because of the existence of additional water resources like runoff, floods, river base-flow and groundwater. In the winter months, crop growth is restricted due to the occurrence of night frosts, especially in June and July, and absence of rains.
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