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 had about 11,500 inhabitants at the 2010 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").