Malargüe

Malargüe
City

Plaza San Martin
Malargüe

Location of Malargüe in Argentina

Coordinates: 35°28.5′S 69°35′W / 35.4750°S 69.583°W / -35.4750; -69.583Coordinates: 35°28.5′S 69°35′W / 35.4750°S 69.583°W / -35.4750; -69.583
Country Argentina
Province Mendoza
Department Malargüe
Elevation 1,402 m (4,600 ft)
Population
 • Total 23,020
Time zone ART (UTC-3)
CPA base M5613
Dialing code +54 2627
Climate BSk

Malargüe (Spanish pronunciation: [maˈlarɣwe]) is a city in the southwest part of province of Mendoza, Argentina, about 370 km south of the provincial capital Mendoza. It is the head town of the Malargüe Department, and it has about 23,000 inhabitants as per the 2001 census [INDEC].

Overview

The city is located in a semi-arid area. Agriculture is focused on the production of seed potato, along with minor crops such as alfalfa, onion and garlic. In the past, the local industries included oil exploration and production (now almost completely deactivated) and uranium mining. As a touristic area, Malargüe provides hotels and cabins for visitors interested in eco-tourism in the summer and skiing in the winter at the nearby resorts of Las Leñas and Los Molles.

The city is known for its traditional dish, the chivito (baby goat). It hosts the annual National Festival of the Goat and the Provincial Festival of the Lamb, during the second week of January.

History

1972

On 13 October 1972 the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed in the Andes, in the municipal territory of Malargüe (34°45′54″S 70°17′11″W / 34.76500°S 70.28639°W / -34.76500; -70.28639).

Climate

Malargüe's climate is dry and relatively cold. Summers bring warm days (the average is 28 °C, or 82F) and cool to cold nights (11 °C, or 53F), with sporadic thunderstorms occurring. By March or early April, frost is to be expected, and during the winter (May to September), wild fluctuations of temperature can occur: the average high is 11 °C (53F) and the average low is -2 °C (28F), but northwesterly winds that blow downslope from the Andes can bring temperatures of 25 °C (77F), and extreme Antarctic outbreaks will bring periods of snow, daytime highs well below 0 °C (32F) and night lows well below -12 °C (10F). Temperatures have reached lows of -23 °C (-9F) in the past.

Climate data for Malargüe, Mendoza, Argentina (1961–1990, extremes 1970–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 36.7
(98.1)		 35.2
(95.4)		 33.6
(92.5)		 30.6
(87.1)		 27.8
(82)		 27.4
(81.3)		 28.5
(83.3)		 29.4
(84.9)		 31.0
(87.8)		 30.8
(87.4)		 33.5
(92.3)		 36.5
(97.7)		 36.7
(98.1)
Average high °C (°F) 27.9
(82.2)		 26.9
(80.4)		 23.7
(74.7)		 19.7
(67.5)		 15.3
(59.5)		 11.5
(52.7)		 10.9
(51.6)		 13.4
(56.1)		 16.2
(61.2)		 20.1
(68.2)		 23.7
(74.7)		 26.6
(79.9)		 19.7
(67.5)
Daily mean °C (°F) 19.6
(67.3)		 18.4
(65.1)		 15.3
(59.5)		 11.3
(52.3)		 7.4
(45.3)		 4.2
(39.6)		 3.5
(38.3)		 5.4
(41.7)		 8.1
(46.6)		 12.1
(53.8)		 15.6
(60.1)		 18.4
(65.1)		 11.6
(52.9)
Average low °C (°F) 10.7
(51.3)		 10.0
(50)		 7.9
(46.2)		 4.1
(39.4)		 0.9
(33.6)		 −1.7
(28.9)		 −2.5
(27.5)		 −1.4
(29.5)		 0.5
(32.9)		 3.9
(39)		 6.8
(44.2)		 9.6
(49.3)		 4.1
(39.4)
Record low °C (°F) 0.3
(32.5)		 −1.3
(29.7)		 −2.9
(26.8)		 −6.9
(19.6)		 −12.0
(10.4)		 −13.7
(7.3)		 −24.6
(−12.3)		 −15.6
(3.9)		 −10.1
(13.8)		 −5.4
(22.3)		 −3.8
(25.2)		 −0.9
(30.4)		 −24.6
(−12.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 24.0
(0.945)		 29.5
(1.161)		 24.5
(0.965)		 14.5
(0.571)		 21.1
(0.831)		 35.0
(1.378)		 36.9
(1.453)		 16.1
(0.634)		 21.1
(0.831)		 19.4
(0.764)		 22.1
(0.87)		 26.6
(1.047)		 290.8
(11.449)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 4 5 5 3 4 5 5 4 5 4 4 4 52
Average snowy days 0 0 0 0 0.8 2 3 1 2 0.3 0.1 0 9.2
Average relative humidity (%) 48 54 61 64 66 69 70 63 56 51 47 47 58
Mean monthly sunshine hours 328.6 257.1 254.2 213.0 192.2 150.0 151.9 170.5 162.0 220.1 294.0 322.4 2,716
Percent possible sunshine 73 68 66 63 60 51 48 51 45 54 70 71 60
Source #1: NOAA,[1] Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (precipitation days)[2]
Source #2: Oficina de Riesgo Agropecuario (record highs and lows),[3] UNLP (sun and snowfall)[4]

Transport and infrastructures

Offices of the Pierre Auger Observatory

Transportation

Malargüe is linked to the north of Mendoza by National Route 40. This route continues south, entering Neuquén Province, but is only partially built and not well maintained beyond Malargüe City.

Air traffic in the area (only local flights) is served by the Comodoro D. Ricardo Salomón Airport.

Astronomic and space center

Malargüe is also home to the southern site of the Pierre Auger Observatory, an international physics experiment searching for ultra-high energy cosmic rays.

The European Space Agency began construction of a deep space ground station 30 km south of Malargüe in 2010.[5] It became operational in early 2013 Malargüe Station and is the third 35m dish in its ESTRACK network.

References

  1. ↑ "Malargüe Climate Normals 1961-1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Valores Medios de Temperatura y Precipitación-Mendoza: Malargüe" (in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Malargüe, Mendoza". Estadísticas meteorológicas decadiales (in Spanish). Oficina de Riesgo Agropecuario. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Datos bioclimáticos de 173 localidades argentinas". Atlas Bioclimáticos (in Spanish). Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  5. ↑ ESA to build its third deep space ground station in Argentina
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