Malargüe is a city in the southwest part of the 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 27,000 inhabitants as per the.

Etymology

The name Malargüe is a rendering of the Mapundungun name Malal Hue, meaning "stone corral" or "place of corrals".

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 (-34.765°N, -70.28639°W).

Climate

Malargüe's climate is dry and relatively cold. It is a semi-arid climate under the Köppen climate classification. Summers bring very warm days (the average high is 28 C) and cool nights (11 C), 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 and the average low is -2 C, but northwesterly winds that blow downslope from the Andes can bring temperatures of 25 C, and extreme Antarctic outbreaks will bring periods of snow, daytime highs well below 0 C and night lows well below -12 C.

Transport and infrastructures

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. Aerolíneas Argentinas and American Jet offer services, as of 2021, to this airport.

Astronomic and space center

Malargüe is also home to 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. It became operational in early 2013 Malargüe Station and is the third 35m dish in its ESTRACK network.