Map of Mendoza

History

Archeological studies have determined that the first inhabitants in the area date from the Holocene, but there are few remains of those people to know their habits. The earliest sites of human occupation in Mendoza Province, Agua de la Cueva and Gruta del Indio, are 12,000–13,000 years old. In the basins of the Atuel River, in 300 BC, lived a group of people that lived via hunting and the cultivation of maize, pumpkins and beans. Those valleys saw the rise of the Agrelo culture, ancestor of the Huarpes. They were later influenced greatly by the Inca empire during the 15th century.

The first Spanish conquerors came around 1550, from the Viceroyalty of Peru. In 1561, Mendoza was founded by the conquistador Pedro del Castillo.

Geography

The geography of the province descends from 6,960.8 metres (22,837 ft) at the summit of Aconcagua to the semi-flat lands of the east. A series of longitudinal valles, such as the Uspallata, separate the Andes from the Precordillera lower mountains. To the east, the Cuyean plains are crossed by tributaries of the Desaguadero River. Other important rivers include Mendoza River, Tunuyán River, Diamante River and Atuel River.

The climate is continental, sunny and dry in the entire territory of the province, with warm summers and relatively cold winters. The arid soil due to the scant precipitation and the great temperature difference between day and night allows mainly xerophytes and few trees to grow.

Economy

Famed worldwide for its viticulture (with 70% of the 1.5 billion liters in Argentine wine production), the Mendoza economy (Argentina's fifth largest) is, however, quite diversified. Its 2013 output was estimated at US$18.8 billion, or, US$10,758 per capita below the national average, at a level similar to Turkey and above Mexico. Agriculture, to be sure (though 7% of the total economy), has long accounted for much of Mendoza's foreign exchange earnings (followed closely by tourism, mainly from Chile). Besides wine, other important crops (mainly for the Argentine market) are apples, pears, tomatoes, onions, plums, olives, cherries, peaches and quince. Apiculture, with 30,000 beehives, is another growing activity favoured by Mendoza's dry weather.