Chos Malal is the capital city of the Chos Malal Department in Neuquén Province, Argentina.

History

Chos Malal was founded on 4 August 1887 by Colonel José Olascoaga. It developed as a control point for policing the movement of

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

with a view to the suppression of cattle raiding. The city was the capital of the Territorio del Neuquén until 1904 when the capital and administrative buildings were moved to

Neuquén Neuquén (; arn, Nehuenken) is the capital city of the Argentine province of Neuquén and of the Confluencia Department, located in the east of the province. It occupies a strip of land west of the confluence of the Limay and Neuquén river ...

, capital city of the

Confluencia Department Confluencia is a department located in the east of Neuquén Province in Argentina. Neuquén, the capital city of the province, is located in this department. The department is named ''Confluencia'' after the confluence of the rivers Neuquén and Li ...

, the arrival there of the railway having provided an economic boost which helped the city of Neuquén to grow very rapidly.

Toponymy

The name Chos Malal derives from

Mapuche The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who s ...

words meaning "yellow corral" – from the distinctively yellow colour of the sedimentary

flagstone Flagstone (flag) is a generic flat stone, sometimes cut in regular rectangular or square shape and usually used for paving slabs or walkways, patios, flooring, fences and roofing. It may be used for memorials, headstones, facades and other co ...

rock that predominates in the hills surrounding the city.

Geography

Chos Malal is located between the

Neuquén River The Neuquén River () is the second most important river of the province of Neuquén in the Argentine Patagonia, after the Limay River. Rocks of the Neuquén Basin are fossiliferous, and the basin hosts what may become important fields of ti ...

and

Curi Leuvú river Curi may refer to: Places * Quri (Quiquijana), a mountain in Peru * Mount Curi in East Timor People * Humberto Curi Humberto Curi (June 10, 1905 – August 1981) is an Argentine boxer who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics. He placed ...

in the Cordillera del Viento. It is surrounded by conifer forests, mostly of Araucaria trees.

Climate

Chos Malal has a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''BSk''), with cold winters and hot summers; during the winter there are regular snow storms. {{Weather box, width=auto , location = Chos Malal (1901–1960) , metric first = yes , single line = Yes , Jan record high C = 40.6 , Feb record high C = 40.6 , Mar record high C = 37.8 , Apr record high C = 34.2 , May record high C = 30.6 , Jun record high C = 25.5 , Jul record high C = 25.1 , Aug record high C = 29.0 , Sep record high C = 33.9 , Oct record high C = 33.4 , Nov record high C = 37.5 , Dec record high C = 39.6 , year record high C = 40.6 , Jan high C = 31.1 , Feb high C = 30.3 , Mar high C = 27.4 , Apr high C = 22.1 , May high C = 17.0 , Jun high C = 13.2 , Jul high C = 12.8 , Aug high C = 15.0 , Sep high C = 18.2 , Oct high C = 22.8 , Nov high C = 26.5 , Dec high C = 29.2 , year high C = 22.1 , Jan mean C = 21.3 , Feb mean C = 20.2 , Mar mean C = 17.1 , Apr mean C = 12.6 , May mean C = 9.6 , Jun mean C = 6.6 , Jul mean C = 6.1 , Aug mean C = 7.4 , Sep mean C = 9.7 , Oct mean C = 13.7 , Nov mean C = 17.3 , Dec mean C = 20.0 , year mean C = 13.5 , Jan low C = 12.4 , Feb low C = 11.1 , Mar low C = 8.3 , Apr low C = 4.7 , May low C = 3.4 , Jun low C = 1.3 , Jul low C = 0.4 , Aug low C = 0.9 , Sep low C = 2.8 , Oct low C = 5.6 , Nov low C = 8.7 , Dec low C = 10.6 , year low C = 5.9 , Jan record low C = -1.9 , Feb record low C = 2.0 , Mar record low C = -3.0 , Apr record low C = -9.1 , May record low C = -10.6 , Jun record low C = -12.5 , Jul record low C = -13.9 , Aug record low C = -9.6 , Sep record low C = -9.1 , Oct record low C = -4.5 , Nov record low C = -4.2 , Dec record low C = -0.6 , year record low C = -13.9 , precipitation colour = green , Jan precipitation mm = 10.0 , Feb precipitation mm = 10.3 , Mar precipitation mm = 11.0 , Apr precipitation mm = 17.1 , May precipitation mm = 42.2 , Jun precipitation mm = 36.3 , Jul precipitation mm = 32.6 , Aug precipitation mm = 30.2 , Sep precipitation mm = 14.6 , Oct precipitation mm = 13.0 , Nov precipitation mm = 10.4 , Dec precipitation mm = 9.4 , year precipitation mm = 237.1 , Jan humidity = 40.7 , Feb humidity = 44.0 , Mar humidity = 32.3 , Apr humidity = 53.0 , May humidity = 58.7 , Jun humidity = 62.3 , Jul humidity = 61.3 , Aug humidity = 57.0 , Sep humidity = 51.0 , Oct humidity = 44.3 , Nov humidity = 41.0 , Dec humidity = 39.0 , year humidity = 48.7 , source 1 = Secretaria de Mineria{{cite web , archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20120402183437/http://www.mineria.gov.ar/estudios/irn/neuquen/tablametypluvio.asp , archivedate = April 2, 2012 , url = http://www.mineria.gov.ar/estudios/irn/neuquen/tablametypluvio.asp , language = Spanish , title = Provincia de Neuquen - Clima Y Meteorologia: Datos Meteorologicos Y Pluviometicos , publisher = Secretaria de Mineria de la Nacion (Argentina) , accessdate = February 8, 2014 , date=February 2011

Culture

The Jose Olascoaga historical museum located in the city has exhibits of many historical pieces of the

Conquest of the Desert The Conquest of the Desert ( es, Conquista del desierto) was an Argentine military campaign directed mainly by General Julio Argentino Roca in the 1870s with the intention of establishing dominance over the Patagonian Desert, inhabited primar ...

such as documents, soldier's equipment and

objects.

References

Populated places established in 1887 Populated places in Neuquén Province