El Maitén is a town in
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
in
Cushamen Department on the margins of the
Chubut River
The Chubut River (; ; ) is located in the Patagonia region of southern Argentina. Its name comes from the Tehuelche word , which means 'transparent'. The Argentine Chubut Province, through which the river flows, is named after it. Welsh settle ...
, on the northwest of
Chubut Province
Chubut ( from Tehuelche language, Tehuelche 'transparent'; ) is a provinces of Argentina, province in southern Argentina, situated between the 42nd parallel south (the border with Río Negro Province), the 46th parallel south (bordering Santa ...
, in
Patagonia
Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...
. In older times it was the intermediate point in the railroad tracks of the
Old Patagonian Express
La Trochita (official name: ''Viejo Expreso Patagónico''), in English known as the Old Patagonian Express, is a narrow gauge railway in Patagonia, Argentina using steam locomotives. The nickname ''La Trochita'' means literally "The little gauge ...
between the towns of
Ingeniero Jacobacci
Ingeniero Jacobacci is a city in Río Negro Province, Argentina. It has a population of 12,000. It is named in honor of , the General Director of Ferrocarriles Patagónicos (Patagonian Railways) responsible for the city's rail connection via the ...
and
Esquel
Esquel is a town in the northwest of Chubut Province in Argentine Patagonia. It is located in Futaleufú Department, of which it is the government seat. Esquel is the home station for “La Trochita,” a historic narrow gauge railway known in En ...
.
Location
The town is located south of the 42
parallel (inter-province border between the provinces of
Río Negro and Chubut), at
AMSL
Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level v ...
. Ex-Provincial route 40 runs through it on a north–south direction, which connects to the city of
Esquel
Esquel is a town in the northwest of Chubut Province in Argentine Patagonia. It is located in Futaleufú Department, of which it is the government seat. Esquel is the home station for “La Trochita,” a historic narrow gauge railway known in En ...
south.
Other connecting routes to El Maitén are National Route 243 towards
El Bolsón and
Bariloche
San Carlos de Bariloche (from the Mapuche name ''Vuriloche'', meaning "people from the other side of the mountain"), commonly known simply as Bariloche (), is the largest city in the Argentine province of Río Negro and the seat of the departm ...
in Río Negro Province, and Provincial routes RP 4 and RP 71, connecting to
Cushamen and
Epuyén respectively.
El Maitén lies south of
Ñorquincó, east of El Bolsón, and northwest of
Cushamen, and northeast of Epuyén.
Geography and climate
The town of El Maitén lies on the right bank of the
Chubut River
The Chubut River (; ; ) is located in the Patagonia region of southern Argentina. Its name comes from the Tehuelche word , which means 'transparent'. The Argentine Chubut Province, through which the river flows, is named after it. Welsh settle ...
. The river's valley is of
glacial
A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...
origin, and in this region it runs in a north–south direction on the first highlands of the
Andes
The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...
to the west, and the ancient formations of
Patagonia
Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...
to the east. The topography is mountainous, but of lower elevation, always under .
This geographic region is a clear example of the transition between the humid wooded Andes areas to the West, and the classic more arid
steppes
In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes.
Steppe biomes may include:
* the montane grasslands and shrublands biome
* the tropical and subtropical gr ...
of central Patagonia. Typical native trees of the area are the
Austrocedrus chilensis, Coihue ''(
Nothofagus dombeyi
''Nothofagus dombeyi'', Dombey's beech, coigue, coihue or coigüe (from Mapudungun ''koywe'') is a tree species native to southern Chile and the Andean parts of Argentine Patagonia. It is a fast-growing species that can live in a wide range o ...
)'', Ñire ''(
Nothofagus antarctica
''Nothofagus antarctica'' (''Antarctic beech''; in Spanish ''Ñire'' or ''Ñirre'') is a deciduous tree or shrub native to southern Chile and Argentina from about 36°S to Tierra del Fuego (56° S), where it grows mainly in the diminishing tempe ...
)'', and over 2,000 meters AMSL the Lenga ''(
Nothofagus pumilio
''Nothofagus pumilio'', the lenga beech (from the Mapuche language), is a deciduous tree or shrub in the Nothofagaceae family that is native to the southern Andes range, in the temperate forests of Chile and Argentina to Tierra del Fuego, from 35 ...
)''.
The climate is semi-steppe, with humid winters with occasional strong snows and an annual precipitation between, .
History and economy
What started as a rural community was influenced greatly by the arrival of the
General Roca railroad to the area in 1939, on a branch that continued to
Esquel
Esquel is a town in the northwest of Chubut Province in Argentine Patagonia. It is located in Futaleufú Department, of which it is the government seat. Esquel is the home station for “La Trochita,” a historic narrow gauge railway known in En ...
. This branch was completed and opened in 1945, and El Maitén was selected as the site of its maintenance sheds and locomotive warehouse. This changed the town towards a railroad-based economy until the 1970s, when the Argentine railroad industry started a steady decline.
Even though most of the railroad system on which El Maitén was a waystop closed in 1993, a train still operates out of El Maitén, running a loop from El Maitén to the train station Bruno J. Thomae then back to El Maitén.
See also
*
Old Patagonian Express
La Trochita (official name: ''Viejo Expreso Patagónico''), in English known as the Old Patagonian Express, is a narrow gauge railway in Patagonia, Argentina using steam locomotives. The nickname ''La Trochita'' means literally "The little gauge ...
References
External links
El Maitén websiteOld Patagonian Express website
{{DEFAULTSORT:El Maiten
Populated places in Chubut Province
El Maitén