Pocito Department
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Pocito is a department in
San Juan Province, Argentina San Juan Province () is a Provinces of Argentina, province of Argentina, located in the western part of the country. Neighbouring provinces are, moving clockwise from the north, La Rioja Province (Argentina), La Rioja, San Luis Province, San Lui ...
. It is located to the south of the city of
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...
, and is predominantly agricultural, the principal products being
grapes A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began approximately 8,0 ...
and
olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...
s. It has a string of prestigious
wineries A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the cultivation and production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feat ...
that make up the so-called "Wine Route". The west part of the department is mountainous.


Origin of name

"Pocito" means "little pit" or "little hole" and was named after a supposed "little hole" where the legendary India Mariana found golden nuggets (See below).


History

Nineteenth-century travelers would relate how Pocito was the first green land they encountered after leaving Mendoza. The founder of the city is considered to be Dr. Jose Ignacio de la Roza, who divided up the land and planned the construction of the Pocito Canal. After the
May Revolution The May Revolution () was a week-long series of events that took place from 18 to 25 May 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This Spanish colony included roughly the territories of present-day Argentina, ...
, the province was divided administratively into urban and rural areas. In 1834, Governor Jose Martin Yanzón and his Minister, Timoteo Bustamente, established departments in the Province of San Juan. Two departments were divided into three districts and Pocito was included in the third quarter of the Department of the South. On January 16, 1851, the Governor Nazario Benavides approved the "Rules of Irrigation". As a result, Mr. Rosendo Bernardo, the inspector of water, divided the province of Pocito into eight sections, which number was later increased to nine and then ten. On December 9, 1869, during the government of Dr. Jose Maria del Carril, the Departmental System Act came into being. Under Article 36 of the Constitution, the Province was redivided into eighteen departments, the fifth of which was Pocito. On March 29, 1876 the Pocito Municipal Board was established, the first commissioner being Julian Mazo.


The Legend of India Mariana

In Pocitanas land, there once lived an old Huarpe Indian called Mariana, whose only company and defense was a faithful dog. She lived under a
carob The carob ( ; ''Ceratonia siliqua'') is a flowering evergreen tree or shrub in the Caesalpinioideae sub-family of the legume family, Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated for its edible fruit, which takes the form of seed pods, and as an ornam ...
tree and invariably smoked a cigar. She occupied the time telling stories of fabulous adventures to children who visited her, and sold "brilliant pebbles" to travelers and neighbors. These were nuggets of gold, which she always maintained came from the "pocito". One dark night, some Spaniards wandering nearby were attracted by the glow of a lit cigarette. Great was their surprise when, approaching the carob tree, they were attacked by the faithful dog baring his canines. The robbers fled in fear, pursued by the woman who came out laughing from under the tree. That night an
earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...
rocked the region and Mariana was seen no more. Her pocito was eagerly sought, but the source of the gold was never found.


The Statue of Liberty

According to some testimonies, it was Cantoni Federico who, as an officer of that time, visited France and had the "Statue of Liberty" created as ordered by national authorities. That is why the date 1810-1910 and the Argentine shield are seen on the left of the statue. Federico Cantoni ordered that the statue be sent to the province of San Juan, its intended location being the park. This was done on the centenary of the "First Cry of Freedom", in May, 1810. On July 9, 1931, the engineer Mark Zalazar Pocito moved the statue and had it placed in the square that now bears the name "Freedom Square".


Geography

The department is located in the province of San Juan, fifteen kilometers south of the capital,
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...
, and has an area of 1330 square kilometers. It shares borders: * To the north with the departments of Rawson and Rivadavia * To the south with the
Sarmiento Sarmiento may refer to: Places Argentina *Sarmiento Department, San Juan, a subdivision of the San Juan Province * Sarmiento Department, Santiago del Estero, a subdivision of the Santiago del Estero Province * Sarmiento Department, Chubut, a subdi ...
* To the east with the department of Rawson * To the west with the department of Zonda


Relief

The mountainous area located in the western sector is a series of ridges with a general north–south direction. These include the Cordon de Las Lajas, the hills of La Rinconada and the Cordon of the Arrow. These are in turn attached to the main range, the Mountains of Zonda. The maximum elevation of over 2000 meters is on the western boundary of the department and the ground generally slopes towards the east. The formation of the Cerro Valdivia is isolated geologically. It is one of the foothills of the
Sierras pampeanas The Sierras Pampeanas (also called Central Sierras or Pampas Sierras) (English: Pampas Mountains) is a geographical region of Argentina. The Sierras Pampeanas are a chain of mountains that rise sharply from the surrounding pampa region of N ...
formed in the
Paleozoic The Paleozoic ( , , ; or Palaeozoic) Era is the first of three Era (geology), geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Beginning 538.8 million years ago (Ma), it succeeds the Neoproterozoic (the last era of the Proterozoic Eon) and ends 251.9 Ma a ...
era. In the rest of the department there is deep soil resulting from water erosion of the mountainous area. Further eastward the soil is shallower and composed of fine material from the
canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...
zone of the Quinto Cuartel division. This area is used as arable land and is irrigated through a network of channels that flow from the San Juan River. The flora is composed of carob, jarilla (in the lower parts of the mountains), chañares, aragua (on the slopes), tuscas, chilcas and pichanas (in the wet valleys). Among the animals living here are
guanaco The guanaco ( ; ''Lama guanicoe'') is a camelid native to South America, closely related to the llama. Guanacos are one of two wild South American camelids; the other species is the vicuña, which lives at higher elevations. Etymology The gua ...
s, vicunas,
fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...
es, mice,
Andean condor The Andean condor (''Vultur gryphus'') is a South American New World vulture and is the only member of the genus ''Vultur''. It is found in the Andes mountains and adjacent Pacific coasts of western South America. With a maximum wingspan of and ...
s, lechuzos, chimangos,
partridge A partridge is a medium-sized Galliformes, galliform bird in any of several genera, with a wide Indigenous (ecology), native distribution throughout parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. Several species have been introduced to the Americas. They ar ...
s, martinetas,
hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores and live Solitary animal, solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are precociality, able to fend for themselves ...
s and wild
rabbit Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated ...
s.


Hydrography

The irrigation network originates from channels that run from north to south and draw their water from the right bank of the San Juan River. This water is used by farmers in growing areas.


Climate

The climate is dry with a maximum temperatures of 40 °C in summer and minimum below zero in winter. The
atmospheric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as air pressure or barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1,013. ...
and
humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, dew, or fog t ...
are generally low and are at a minimum during the months of August and September due to the dry
Zonda wind Zonda wind () is a regional term for the foehn wind that often occurs on the eastern slope of the Andes, in Argentina. Formation The Zonda is a dry wind (often carrying dust) which comes from the polar maritime air, warmed by descent from the ...
that blows down from the mountains.


Population

According to the census of 2001, Pocito Department has 40,969 inhabitants, making it one of the most populated areas of the province. The majority of the people live in the largest village, Villa Aberastain and the district La Rinconada located a few kilometres to the south, forming a continuous urban corridor called ''Aberastain-La Rinconada''. In the north, near the boundary with Rawson, there is a large population which is contiguous with
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...
and to the south lies the district of , where most of the population is involved in agriculture.


Economy

The territory of Pocito has five types of soils classified as very good for growing crops. Agriculture and the agroindustry are the main sources of income. 9,615 hectares of the department are under cultivation. Crops grown in the area include wine and table
grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began approximately 8,0 ...
s,
vegetable Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including edible flower, flo ...
s (
garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plants in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. Garlic is native to central and south Asia, str ...
,
onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classifie ...
,
tomato The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...
es, squash,
sweet potato The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant in the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its sizeable, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable, which is a staple food in parts of ...
, stud, peppers, alcaucil,
bean A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are traditi ...
s, mangold,
lettuce Lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'') is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae mostly grown as a leaf vegetable. The leaves are most often used raw in Green salad, green salads, although lettuce is also seen in other kinds of food, such as sandwiche ...
,
beet The beetroot (British English) or beet (North American English) is the taproot portion of a '' Beta vulgaris'' subsp. ''vulgaris'' plant in the Conditiva Group. The plant is a root vegetable also known as the table beet, garden beet, dinner ...
,
potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...
es,
corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...
,
pea Pea (''pisum'' in Latin) is a pulse or fodder crop, but the word often refers to the seed or sometimes the pod of this flowering plant species. Peas are eaten as a vegetable. Carl Linnaeus gave the species the scientific name ''Pisum sativum' ...
s,
carrot The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in colour, though heirloom variants including purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild ...
),
olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...
s,
almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', Synonym (taxonomy)#Botany, syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree from the genus ''Prunus''. Along with the peach, it is classified in the subgenus ''Amygdalus'', distinguished from the other subgenera ...
s and
fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...
(
melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. It can also specifically refer to ''Cucumis melo'', commonly known as the "true melon" or simply "melon". The term "melon" can apply to both the p ...
,
peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and Agriculture, cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called necta ...
,
plum A plum is a fruit of some species in Prunus subg. Prunus, ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are often called prunes, though in the United States they may be labeled as 'dried plums', especially during the 21st century. Plums are ...
),
forage Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used m ...
,
timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...
and
seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...
.


References


External links


The Legend of Mariana
{{Authority control Departments of San Juan Province, Argentina