Morteros is a city and municipality in the San Justo Departament in the north east of the Córdoba Province,

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

. The city of Morteros is one of the most important in the San Justo Department, it is near the intersection of two major highways RP 1 and RP 17 and near the

ferrocarril Central Argentino The Central Argentine Railway, referred to as CA below, (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Central Argentino) was one of the ''Big Four'' broad gauge, British companies that built and operated railway networks in Argentina. The company had been establish ...

. Morteros is around from the provincial capital

Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, 2nd largest city in the country and capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cordoba may ...

(280 by road) and from Santa Fe.

Geography and climate

Morteros is around from the eastern shore of Mar Chiquita. The micro region around Morteros is an

ecotone An ecotone is a transition area between two biological communities, where two communities meet and integrate. It may be narrow or wide, and it may be local (the zone between a field and forest) or regional (the transition between forest and gras ...

between the Humid Pampa semi arid

Gran Chaco The Gran Chaco or Dry Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semiarid lowland natural region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, western Paraguay, northern Argentina, and a portion of the Brazilian states of Mato Gros ...

region. The temperature varies between with an annual average of . The first frost can be expected on March 21 and the last on September 5. The average precipitation is per year. Local flora include the

chañar ''Geoffroea decorticans'', the chañar, kumbaru, or Chilean palo verde (green wood), is a small deciduous tree, up to 8 meters (25 ft) tall that inhabits most arid forests (montes or espinales) of southern South America. The chañar is col ...

tala Tala may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Tala (comics), a fictional character in DC comics *''Tala'', a 1938 volume of poetry by Gabriela Mistral *Tala (music), a rhythmic pattern in Indian classical music * "Tala" (song), by Sarah Geronimo ...

, Quebracho, caranday and the yatay.

History

Before the arrival of the conquistadores in the 16th Century the area was populated by ethnic Sanavirónes and Mocovíes. In the 18th Century the Spanish established a fortress called ''Los Morteros'' on a rocky outcrop, the principal function of the fortress was to defend the local territory. It lay on an alternative route to the mining region of

Potosí Potosí, known as Villa Imperial de Potosí in the colonial period, is the capital city and a municipality of the Department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the highest cities in the world at a nominal . For centuries, it was the location o ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, it was used as a market for contraband such as slaves to work in the mines and silver. Fortress Los Morteros and the local area were recaptured by the indigenous population after the

May Revolution The May Revolution ( es, Revolución de Mayo) was a week-long series of events that took place from May 18 to 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This Spanish colony included roughly the terr ...

, although the Sanavirónes had been virtually extinguished, Mocovíes and Abipones moved into the area. The European Argentines launched a counter-offensive and reclaimed the territory in the middle of the century. The indigenous population suffered a great deal from the ethnic cleansing campaigns of the mid 19th century. In 1891 the first railway arrived in Morteros, the railway brought a large number of European immigrants from the Piamonte,

Friuli Friuli ( fur, Friûl, sl, Furlanija, german: Friaul) is an area of Northeast Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity containing 1,000,000 Friulians. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli Venezia Giul ...

and

Toscana it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. In 1965 Morteros acquired its status as a city.

Economy

The economy of the area is dominated by agriculture, especially the production of maize and dairy products. In 1952 the town started the production of Aero Boero which were mainly used for crop spraying and as training aircraft. Other industrial production included the production of agricultural machinery and industrial refrigerators. In the 1990s the area saw a massive increase in the amount of soya, alfalfa and

sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family ( Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many ot ...

There is little tourism in the region aside from the visitors to the Mar Chiquita Lake (Laguna Mar Chiquita o Laguna Ansenuza).

Amenities

Morteros is home to a regional museum and the Instituto Universitario Aeronáutico (AeronauticalUniversity Institute). Local societies include the

gaucho A gaucho () or gaúcho () is a skilled horseman, reputed to be brave and unruly. The figure of the gaucho is a folk symbol of Argentina, Uruguay, Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, and the south of Chilean Patagonia. Gauchos became greatly admired and ...

Fortin Society, the Rural Society of Morteros and the sports clubs

9 de Julio de Morteros Asociación Deportiva 9 de Julio (more often referred as 9 de Julio de Morteros) is an Argentine football club based in the city of Morteros, in the north east of the Córdoba Province, Argentina. The squad currently plays in Zone B of the regio ...

and

Tiro Federal de Morteros Marcus Tullius Tiro (died 4 BC) was first a slave, then a freedman, of Cicero from whom he received his nomen and praenomen. He is frequently mentioned in Cicero's letters. After Cicero's death Tiro published his former master's collected w ...

. There is a cinema with 3D capability, a big casino and several educational establishments, among which is the college / institute Cristo Rey

External links

*{{Commonscat-inline, Morteros (Argentina)
IFAM website
Populated places in Córdoba Province, Argentina Populated places established in 1891 1891 establishments in Argentina