   la rioja is the capital city of the argentine province of la rioja, located in the east of the province. the city has a population of almost 150,000 according to the . la rioja is located on the foot of the velasco sierras,  from buenos aires, and  from cÃ³rdoba. former president isabel martÃ­nez de perÃ³n was born in la rioja. another former president, carlos menem, was born nearby. == climate == la rioja has a semi-arid climate (bsh, according to the kÃ¶ppen climate classification), with average temperatures of  to  winter and  to  in summer, but with maximum temperatures of more than . the average annual rainfall is , falling almost exclusively during the summer when moist tropical air from the northeast enters the region. {{weather box |location = la rioja aero, argentina |single line = yes |metric first = yes |jan high c = 34.
Capitals_of_Argentine_provinces Cities_in_Argentina Populated_places_established_in_1591 Populated_places_in_La_Rioja_Province,_Argentina