Chos Malal is the capital city of the Chos Malal Department in

Neuquén Province Neuquén () is a Provinces of Argentina, 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 me ...

, 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, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

with a view to the suppression of

cattle raiding Cattle raiding is the act of stealing live cattle, often several or many at once. In Australia, such stealing is often referred to as duffing, and the perpetrator as a duffer.Baker, Sidney John (1945) ''The Australian language : an examination ...

. The city was the capital of the Territorio del Neuquén until 1904 when the capital and administrative buildings were moved to

Neuquén Neuquén (; ) 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 rivers which form t ...

, 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 L ...

, 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 ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...

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

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

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 ...

and Curi Leuvú river in the Cordillera del Viento. It is surrounded by

conifer Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

forests, mostly of

Araucaria ''Araucaria'' (; original pronunciation: .ɾawˈka. ɾja is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Araucariaceae. While today they are largely confined to the Southern Hemisphere, during the Jurassic and Cretaceous they were glo ...

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 se ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''BSk''), with cold winters and hot summers; during the winter there are regular snow storms.

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 () was an Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, Argentine military campaign directed mainly by General Julio Argentino Roca during the 1870s and 1880s with the intention of establishing dominance over Patagonia, inh ...

such as documents, soldier's equipment and

objects.

References

{{portal, Argentina Populated places established in 1887 Populated places in Neuquén Province Cities in Argentina