Chos Malal is the capital city of the

Chos Malal Department Chos Malal is a department located in the north of Neuquén Province, Argentina. Geography The Department limits with Chile at the North, Mendoza Province at the northeast, Pehuenches Department at southeast, Ñorquín Department Ñorquín is a ...

in Neuquén Province, Argentina.

History

Chos Malal was founded on 4 August 1887 by Colonel

José Olascoaga José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

. 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 ...

with a view to the suppression of

cattle raiding Cattle raiding is the act of stealing cattle. 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 of the English language and English ...

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

rock that predominates in the hills surrounding the city.

Geography

Chos Malal is located between the Neuquén River and Curi Leuvú river in the

Cordillera del Viento A cordillera is an extensive chain and/or network system of mountain ranges, such as those in the west coast of the Americas. The term is borrowed from Spanish, where the word comes from , a diminutive of ('rope'). The term is most commonly u ...

. It is surrounded by

conifer Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All ex ...

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 semi- ...

( Köppen ''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 such as documents, soldier's equipment and

objects.

References

Populated places established in 1887 Populated places in Neuquén Province