# La Oroya

> capital city of Yauli, Junín, Peru

**Wikidata**: [Q1759360](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1759360)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Oroya)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/la-oroya

## Summary
La Oroya is the capital city of Yauli Province in the Junín region of Peru, located at an elevation of 3,745 metres above sea level. The city serves as the administrative center for both the province and its eponymous district, with a population of approximately 33,000 residents. Its high-altitude location and status as a provincial capital make it a significant settlement in central Peru.

## Key Facts
- **Capital Status**: La Oroya is the capital city of Yauli Province in Junín, Peru, and is located within La Oroya District.
- **Elevation**: The city sits at 3,745 metres above sea level.
- **Population**: La Oroya has approximately 33,000 inhabitants.
- **Geographic Coordinates**: Located at latitude -11.533333333333 and longitude -75.9.
- **UN/LOCODE**: The United Nations location code for La Oroya is PELOA, as listed in the UNECE trade directory.
- **Authority File Identifiers**: The city is catalogued under VIAF ID 132548670, Library of Congress Authority ID n82115901, National Library of Israel J9U ID 987007557554705171, and U.S. National Archives Identifier 10038030.
- **Geographic Databases**: La Oroya is registered with Geonames ID 3936952, Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names ID 1024574, Who's On First ID 421179895, and GNS Unique Feature ID -351823.
- **Digital Identifiers**: The city has a Freebase ID of /m/0clwrh (published 2013-10-28), De Agostini ID "Oroya,+La-", Yale LUX ID "place/de6f742b-84e7-4ed2-ada4-94823fb0437e", and Encyclopædia Britannica Online ID "place/La-Oroya".
- **Wikipedia Presence**: La Oroya is covered in 24 Wikipedia language editions: Arabic (ar), Egyptian Arabic (arz), Aymara (ay), Cebuano (ceb), Czech (cs), German (de), English (en), Esperanto (eo), Spanish (es), Persian (fa), French (fr), Indonesian (id), Italian (it), Lithuanian (lt), Dutch (nl), Norwegian (no), Polish (pl), Portuguese (pt), Quechua (qu), Swedish (sv), Ukrainian (uk), Waray (war), Chinese (zh), and the Wikimedia Commons repository.
- **Reference Works**: The city is described in the New Encyclopedic Dictionary and the Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, 4th edition (1885–1890).
- **Visual Documentation**: A representative photograph titled "Ferrocarril Central Andino 8 La Oroya.JPG" is available on Wikimedia Commons, which maintains a dedicated category "La Oroya" and a subcategory "Category:Views of La Oroya" for visual representations of the city.
- **Classification**: La Oroya is classified as a city and is recognized as a large human settlement with 24 sitelinks across Wikipedia projects.

## FAQs
**What is La Oroya?**  
La Oroya is a city in Peru that serves as the capital of Yauli Province in the Junín region. It functions as the administrative center for both the province and the La Oroya District, with a population of about 33,000 people living at 3,745 metres elevation.

**Where exactly is La Oroya located?**  
The city is situated in central Peru within La Oroya District, at geographic coordinates -11.533333333333 latitude and -75.9 longitude. Its precise UN location code is PELOA, and it holds multiple geographic database identifiers including Geonames ID 3936952.

**What makes La Oroya notable in terms of reference and documentation?**  
La Oroya appears in 24 Wikipedia language versions and is catalogued in numerous global authority files including VIAF, Library of Congress, and the Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names. The city is also documented in historical reference works like the Meyers Konversations-Lexikon from 1885–1890.

**How is La Oroya classified in library and archive systems?**  
The city carries Library of Congress Authority ID n82115901, National Library of Israel J9U ID 987007557554705171, and a U.S. National Archives Identifier of 10038030. It is also registered with Yale's LUX system and Who's On First geographic database.

**What visual resources exist for La Oroya?**  
Wikimedia Commons hosts a category dedicated to La Oroya, including a specific photograph of the Ferrocarril Central Andino railway in the city. The platform also maintains a specialized subcategory for views of La Oroya.

## Why It Matters
La Oroya matters because it represents a high-altitude provincial capital that demonstrates how human settlements adapt to extreme geographic conditions at 3,745 metres elevation. Its status as Yauli Province's administrative hub concentrates regional governance, services, and economic activity in a challenging Andean environment. The city's extensive documentation across 24 Wikipedia languages and inclusion in major authority files like VIAF, Library of Congress, and Getty TGN reflects its recognized significance in global geographic and cultural knowledge systems. This multi-system identification makes La Oroya a valuable case study for understanding how smaller regional capitals are catalogued and represented in international databases. The preservation of its image in the Ferrocarril Central Andino photograph and its description in historical encyclopedias from the 1880s through modern digital dictionaries create a continuous documentary record spanning over a century, providing researchers with longitudinal data on Andean urban development. Furthermore, its assignment of a UN/LOCODE (PELOA) indicates its relevance to international trade and logistics networks, despite its remote high-altitude location.

## Notable For
- **Extreme Elevation**: At 3,745 metres above sea level, La Oroya ranks among Peru's highest provincial capitals, creating distinct environmental and living conditions.
- **Multi-Language Digital Presence**: Coverage in 24 Wikipedia languages including indigenous languages like Aymara and Quechua alongside major world languages demonstrates broad cultural recognition.
- **Comprehensive Authority Control**: The city holds identifiers across twelve major cataloguing systems from VIAF to Yale LUX, exceeding documentation typical for settlements of its size.
- **Historical Documentation**: Descriptions in both the New Encyclopedic Dictionary and Meyers Konversations-Lexikon (1885–1890) provide 19th-century perspectives on the settlement.
- **Railway Heritage**: Visual documentation specifically features the Ferrocarril Central Andino, suggesting historic railway significance connecting the Andean interior.
- **Nested Administrative Role**: Uniquely serves as capital of both a province and its own district within Peru's multi-layered administrative structure.

## Body

### Administrative and Territorial Status
La Oroya occupies a dual administrative position within Peru's governmental hierarchy. The city functions as the capital of Yauli Province, which lies in the Junín region of central Peru. Simultaneously, La Oroya exists within its own namesake district—the La Oroya District—creating a nested administrative structure where the city serves as both provincial seat and local district center. This classification as a city (instance of city) places it within the category of large human settlements, with 24 sitelinks across Wikipedia projects confirming its recognized urban status.

### Geographic and Physical Characteristics
The city's location is precisely defined by geographic coordinates of -11.533333333333 latitude and -75.9 longitude. La Oroya's most striking physical feature is its extreme elevation at 3,745 metres above sea level, situating it in the high Andean altiplano ecosystem. This altitude significantly impacts climate, infrastructure, and daily life. The settlement's position in central Peru's Junín region places it along historic transportation corridors, as evidenced by the Ferrocarril Central Andino railway documentation in Wikimedia Commons.

### Demographic Profile
Population data indicates La Oroya is home to approximately 33,000 residents. This population scale, combined with its provincial capital status, establishes the city as a regional population center serving surrounding highland communities. The concentration of inhabitants at such extreme elevation demonstrates successful human adaptation to Andean environments.

### Global Identification and Authority Control
La Oroya maintains an unusually comprehensive presence in international cataloguing systems for a city of its size. The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe assigns it UN/LOCODE PELOA for trade and logistics purposes. Geographic databases register it under multiple identifiers: Geonames ID 3936952, Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names ID 1024574, Who's On First ID 421179895, and GNS Unique Feature ID -351823. Library and archive systems catalog it through VIAF ID 132548670, Library of Congress Authority ID n82115901 (verified 2019-03-06), National Library of Israel J9U ID 987007557554705171, and U.S. National Archives Identifier 10038030. Additional scholarly identifiers include Freebase ID /m/0clwrh (published 2013-10-28), De Agostini ID "Oroya,+La-", Yale LUX ID "place/de6f742b-84e7-4ed2-ada4-94823fb0437e", and Encyclopædia Britannica Online ID "place/La-Oroya" with the standardized name "La Oroya".

### Digital and Linguistic Representation
The city's digital footprint spans 24 Wikipedia language editions: Arabic, Egyptian Arabic, Aymara, Cebuano, Czech, German, English, Esperanto, Spanish, Persian, French, Indonesian, Italian, Lithuanian, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Quechua, Swedish, Ukrainian, Waray, Chinese, and the Wikimedia Commons media repository. This extensive linguistic coverage includes two indigenous Andean languages (Aymara and Quechua) alongside major global languages, reflecting both local relevance and international interest. The sitelink count of 24 across these Wikipedia versions demonstrates broad encyclopedic recognition.

### Historical and Modern References
La Oroya appears in authoritative reference works spanning more than a century. The New Encyclopedic Dictionary includes an entry on the city, while the Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, 4th edition (published 1885–1890), documents the settlement during the late 19th century. This continuous reference presence from the 1880s through modern digital encyclopedias creates a valuable historical record for researchers examining Andean urban development over time.

### Visual Documentation and Media Resources
Wikimedia Commons provides dedicated visual resources for La Oroya through a specialized category bearing its name. A specific representative image, "Ferrocarril Central Andino 8 La Oroya.JPG," documents the Central Andean Railway within the city, suggesting historic and ongoing transportation significance. The platform further organizes visual materials through "Category:Views of La Oroya," enabling systematic access to photographic documentation of the city's landscape and architecture. These resources support both educational use and scholarly research on Andean urban geography and railway development.

## References

1. Virtual International Authority File
2. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
3. GeoNames
4. [Source](https://service.unece.org/trade/locode/pe.htm)
5. National Library of Israel Names and Subjects Authority File