Situated at the base of Cerro Ambato, on the Río Valle River in northwest Argentina, Catamarca Province’s capital and largest city is San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca (Latin American Spanish: [saʱ feɍˈnando ̨el ˈβaʝe ðe kataˈmaɍka]). Typically, the name of the city is reduced to Catamarca.

With a land area of 684 km2 (264 sq mi) at an elevation of 500 m (1,640 ft) above sea level, the city has 159,000 residents (2010 census [INDEC]), including over 200,000 in the suburbs, making up around 70% of the province’s total population.