Orán, Salta

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Cities and towns
in Argentina
Orán
Province Salta
Department Orán
Location 23°08′ S 64°20′ W
Population 72,712
Demonym oranense
Phone code +54 3878
CPA base A4530
Mayor Eliseo Barbera
Party Justicialist Party

San Ramón de la Nueva Orán (usually referred to simply as Orán) is a city in the north-west of the province of Salta, Argentina, about 270 km from the provincial capital. It is the head town of the Orán Department and it has about 73,000 inhabitants as per the 2001 census [INDEC], which makes it the second most populated in the province.

Orán is the seat of a Catholic diocese and a regional center of the Universidad Nacional de Salta. It is linked to other cities in the area by National Route 50 near National Route 34. Air traffic to the provincial capital is serviced by the Orán Airport (IATA: ORA, ICAO: SASO).

The economy of the area is based in agriculture; the major crops are sugarcane, citrus (mainly orange and grapefruit), paprika, banana, and to a smaller extent also coffee. Derived products are sugar and concentrated orange juice.

[edit] History

The city was founded on 1794-08-31 by the Spanish military man and governor of Salta, Ramón García de León y Pizarro, who named the settlement after Saint Raymond Nonnatus (on the saint's feast day) and his own birthplace, the city of Oran (in modern Algeria).

[edit] References