Tinogasta is a city in the west of the province of Catamarca, Argentina, on the right-hand shore of the Abaucán River, about 280 km from the provincial capital San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca. It has about 14,500 inhabitants as of the 2001 census [INDEC]. It is the head town of the department of the same name. The name of the city comes from the Kakana words tino "meeting" and gasta "town".