Mizque Province

**Mizque** (frae Quechua: *misk'i*, meanin "sweet") is a province in the Cochabamba Depairtment, Bolivie. Its caipital is Mizque.

The province, in 1992, haed a population o 27,959 indwallers, maistly indigenous ceetizens o Quechuan strynd. In 2001, the population increased tae 36,181 indwallers an it wis estimatit at 41,062 in 2005.

## Subdiveesion
The province is dividit intae three municipalities which are further subdividit intae ten cantons.

## Geography
Mizque Province is hame tae a great diversity o ecoregions acause it contains a wide variety o topographic featurs wi hichts rangin atween 2,000 an 3,600 m. The province belangs tae the Julpe-Mizque basin wi an aurie o 3,845&nbsp;km².

The main rivers are:
* Mizque River, 75&nbsp;km
* Julpe River, 60&nbsp;km
* Uyuchama River, 50&nbsp;km
* Tujma River, 45&nbsp;km
* Kari Kari River, 42&nbsp;km
* Vicho Vicho River, 32&nbsp;km

Awtho thare is a lairge amoont o superficial an sub-superficial watter athin the province, the zone is sufferin frae drocht due tae the lack o irrigation seestems.

## Climate
The climate is dry. Thare are a few irregular rainfaws an lang periods o drocht. The medium annual temperatur varies atween 16 tae 18&nbsp;°C. Durin the rainy saison ("simmer"), correspondin tae the months frae December tae Mairch, the province receives 87 % o the annual precipitation, in December an Januar alane 57 %, aften occurrin as hailstorms. Durin the dry saison ("winter") the temperatur goes doun radically an snawfaws occur. The annual precipitation is atween 300 an 700&nbsp;mm, reachin 507&nbsp;mm annually on an average.

## Flora
The semiarid an arid regions are covered wi plants which are tolerant towards dry conditions. 75 % o the tot aurie o Mizque Province is cultivated.

## Fauna

The Red-fronted Macaws  (*Ara rubrogenys*), endemic tae a sma muntainous aurie o Bolivie, can be observit in Mizque. This species is considered tae be endangered due tae intense agricultur activity which haes reducit its habitat. The problem is that the peasants o some zones leuk upon them as a plague acause thay raid the maize in the fields. Thare is a chance that thay micht be regardit as ane o the tourist attractions o the region.

## The fowk
The majority o the population o the Mizque Province lives in the rural aurie in commonties far apairt frae ilk ither.  The lack o guid roads maks trade an providin services difficult. The land in some auries is quite dry an no appropriate for fermin.  That mey be some o the raisons  why the Human Development Index in the municipalities o Mizque is amang the lawest in Bolivie (0.365, 0.400 an 0.460), placin them in the poseetions 284 (Mizque), 305 (Vila Vila) an 298 (Alalay) oot o 314 municipalities.

The conditions o life are especially creetical in the puna an remote commonties. The level o income o a peasant faimily in the heich zones or in the dryland is estimatit at 200 - 250 US-$ per year.

Some data:

Thare are 182 landwart commonties athin the territory o the province situatit in hichts atween 2,000 m in the template valleys an 3,600 m in the puna.

## Leid
The predominant leid is Quechua, spoken bi 32,212 indwallers an aboot 11,482 indwallers are bilingual. Thay can speak Spaingie as well. The follaein table shows the nummer o those belangin tae the recognizit group o speakers.

## Economy
The economic activity is concentratit on agricultur an animal husbandry an tae a minor extent on minin an crafts. The maist important sectors in agricultur are the cultivation o potatoes, maize, wheat, peanuts, barley an ingans.

## Festivals an Fairs
* 2nt week in Mey: Fruit fair in Mizque, 1 day
* 16 Julie: Oor Lady o Munt Carmel in Alalay, 3 days 
* 8 September - 14: Oor Laird o Burgos (*Señor de Burgos*) in Mizque, 7 days
* 23 September - 25: *Virgen Mestiza de Shikimira* in Vila Vila, 3 days

## References

* Global Program o Development (Spaingie)

## Freemit airtins
* Map o Mizque Province