Neuquén Province
Neuquén is a
province of
Argentina, located in the west of the country, at the northern end of
Patagonia. It borders
Mendoza Province to the north,
Rio Negro Province to the southeast, and
Chile to the west. It also meets
La Pampa Province at its northeast corner.
The Neuquén Province receives its name from the
Neuquén River.The term
"Neuquén" derives from the
Mapudungun word
"Nehuenken" meaning
drafty, which the aborigines used to refer to this river. The word, without accentuation, is a
palindrome.
Inhabited by
Pehuenches,
Tehuelches and
Mapuches, the territory was not explored by the
Conquistadores until late in the 17th century. In
1670 another priest, Nicolás Mascardi, founded the
Jesuit mission Nuestra Senora de Nahuel Huapi.
In 1879
Julio Argentino Roca started the infamous
Conquest of the Desert (
Conquista del Desierto) that finally broke the aboriginal resistance. In
1884 the Patagonia's political division was restructured and the
Government of Neuquén acquired its current boundaries. The capital of the province moved several times to
Norquín (1884-1885),
Campana Mahuida (current
Loncopué) (1885-1888),
Chos Malal (1885-1901), and finally
Confluencia currently known as
Neuquén.
At the beginning of the 20th century the railway reached the city of Neuquén, and a new irrigating system was finished facilitating the production and later transportation of crops.
Petroleum was found in
Plaza Huincul in
1918, giving to Neuquén a new push forward.
The territory was named province in
June 15 1955, and its constitution is declared in
November 28 1957. The
Universidad del Neuquén ("University of Neuquén") was founded in 1964, and the
Universidad del Comahue ("University of Comahue") in 1971.
The province's limits are set by the
Colorado River to the Northeast, separating it from the
Mendoza Province, the
Limay River to the Southeast facing the
Río Negro Province, and the
Andes mountain range to the west, separating it from
Chile.
There are two main distinctive landscapes; the mountainous fertile valleys with forest on the West, and the arid plateau with fertile land only near the basins of the rivers on the East, mainly the Limay River and
Neuquén River.
|
Stratovolcano Lanín in Neuquén |
The
lacustrine system includes other less important rivers such as
Aluminé River, Malleo, and
Picún Leufú River, and a series of lakes including the
Nahuel Huapi Lake (550 km²), shared with the Río Negro Province, the
Aluminé Lake (58 km²),
Lácar Lake (49 km²), Huechulaufquen Lake (110 km²), Lolog (35 km²), Traful, Hermoso, Quillén, Ñorquinco, Tromen and Falkner.
The weather is continental and cold, with
temperate summers, and in the arid regions a wide difference in temperature between day and night. There is also a big contrast in
humidity, with regular precipitations of up to 4.000 mm in some regions of the Andean part of the province.
The province is home of the magnificent
Arrayanes' forest at the
Los Arrayanes National Park. Other National parks include
Lanín National Park and the
Lanín extinct volcano, the
Nahuel Huapí National Park shared with the Río Negro Province, and the
Laguna Blanca National Park.
The main economic activity is the exploitation of
hydrocarbon and
petroleum derivatives, the most important in Argentina. The province generates a significant part of Patagonia's electric power through the hydroelectric plants of
Piedra del Águila,
El Chocón,
Pichi Picún Leufú, Planicie Banderita (in the
Cerros Colorados Complex), and
Alicurá. The town of Arroyito hosts the only
heavy water plant in the country.
Another important activity is the production of
apples,
pears,
peaches and others, specially in the
Alto Valle area, shared with
Río Negro.
The
piquetero movement (organizations of unemployed workers) was born in Neuquén in the 1990s, during the presidency of
Carlos Menem.
See also Tourism in Argentina articleDestination of many Argentineans and foreigners, the province has many and varied options for winter and summer;
San Martín de los Andes,
Villa La Angostura,
Camino de los Siete Lagos,
Los Arrayanes National Park,
Lanín National Park,
Nahuel Huapí National Park,
Laguna Blanca National Park, and the
Copahue hot baths are just some of them.For the winter season, there are the ski centres of
Chapelco,
Cerro Bayo and
Caviahue.
Many explore the lake district region of Southwestern Neuquén that stretches into Río Negro and
Chubut Provinces. Another form of tourism is the fishing excursions of mainly the
trout, where
spinning,
trolling and
fly casting in the Limay and Neuquén rivers, but also in different smaller streams.
There were a number of
dinosaurs in the area, of which the bones of a 95 million years old
Argentinosaurus are in dispay at the
Carmen Funes Museum in
Plaza Huincul.
The province is divided in 16
departments (
Spanish:
departamentos).
Department (Capital)
# Aluminé Department (
Aluminé)# Añelo Department (
Añelo)# Catan Lil Department (
Las Coloradas)# Chos Malal Department (
Chos Malal)# Collón Curá Department (
Piedra del Aguila)#
Confluencia Department (
Neuquén)# Huiliches Department (
Junín de los Andes)#
Lacar Department (
San Martín de los Andes)# Loncopué Department (
Loncopué)#
Los Lagos Department (
Villa La Angostura)#
Minas Department (
Andacoyo)# Ñorquin Department (El Huecú)# Pehuenches Department (Buta Ranquil)# Picún Leufú Department (Picún Leufú)# Picunches Department (Las Lajas)# Zapala Department (
Zapala)
