Pocito Department
Encyclopedia
Pocito is a department in San Juan Province, Argentina. It is located to the south of the city of San Juan
, and is predominantly agricultural, the principle products being grapes and olive
s. It has a string of prestigious wineries
that make up the so-called "Wine Route". The west part of the department is mountainous.
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 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.
called Mariana, whose only company and defense was a faithful dog. She lived under a carob 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
rocked the region and Mariana was seen no more. Her pocito was eagerly sought, but the source of the gold was never found.
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".
The department is located in the province of San Juan, fifteen kilometers south of the capital, San Juan
, and has an area of 1330 square kilometers. It shares borders:
.jpg)
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
formed in the Paleozoic
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
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 guanacos, vicuna
s, fox
es, mice, Andean condors
, lechuzos, chimangos, partridge
s, martinetas
, hare
s and wild rabbit
s.
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.
and humidity
are generally low and are at a minimum during the months of August and September due to the dry Zonda wind
that blows down from the mountains.
and to the south lies the district of Carpintería (San Luis)
, where most of the population is involved in agriculture.
.jpg)
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
s, vegetables (garlic
, onion
, tomatoes, squash, sweet potato
, stud, peppers
, alcaucil, bean
s, mangold
, lettuce
, beet
, potato
es, corn
, peas
, carrot
), olive
s, almond
s and fruit
(melon
, peach
, plum
), forage
, timber
and seed
.
San Juan, Argentina
San Juan is the capital city of the Argentine province of San Juan in the Cuyo region, located in the Tulúm Valley, west of the San Juan River, at above mean sea level, with a population of around 112,000 as per the ....
, and is predominantly agricultural, the principle products being grapes and olive
Olive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
s. It has a string of prestigious wineries
Winery
A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of...
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
May Revolution
The May Revolution 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, a Spanish colony that included roughly the territories of present-day Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay...
, 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
Salvador María del Carril
Salvador María del Carril was a prominent Argentine jurist and policy-maker, as well as his country's first Vice President-Early life:...
, 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 IndianHuarpe people
The Huarpes or Warpes were indigenous inhabitants of Cuyo, in Argentina. Some scholars assume that in the Huarpe language, this word means "sandy ground," but according Arte y Vocabulario de la lengua general del Reino de Chile, written by Andrés Fabres in Lima in 1765, the word Cuyo comes from...
called Mariana, whose only company and defense was a faithful dog. She lived under a carob 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
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
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
San Juan, Argentina
San Juan is the capital city of the Argentine province of San Juan in the Cuyo region, located in the Tulúm Valley, west of the San Juan River, at above mean sea level, with a population of around 112,000 as per the ....
, and has an area of 1330 square kilometers. It shares borders:
- To the north with the departments of RawsonRawson Department, San JuanRawson is a central department of San Juan Province in Argentina.The provincial subdivision has a population of about 107,000 inhabitants in an area of 164 km², and its capital city is Villa Krause, which is located around 1,190 km from Capital Federal.-Geography:Rawson is located in...
and RivadaviaRivadavia Department, San JuanRivadavia is a department of the province of San Juan . Located in the central southern part of Argentina, in the northeast section of the Valle del Tulum The city of San Juan is located in the west of this region, which is part of the conurbation, Grand San Juan. It is the capitol city of the... - To the south with the SarmientoSarmiento Department, San JuanSarmiento is a department located in the south west of San Juan Province in Argentina.The provincial subdivision has a population of about 19,000 inhabitants in an area of 14,955km², and its capital city is Media Agua, which is located around 1,195km from Capital Federal.- Geography :Sarmiento is...
- To the east with the department of Rawson
- To the west with the department of ZondaZonda Department'Zonda is a department of the province of San Juan . It is located in the center south of the province, which stressed a landscape of hills and little vegetation...
Relief
Sierras pampeanas
The Sierras pampeanas or Pampas Sierras is a geographical region of Argentina.The Sierras pampeanas are a chain of mountains that rise sharply from the surrounding pampa region of Northwest Argentina...
formed in the Paleozoic
Paleozoic
The Paleozoic era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon, spanning from roughly...
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
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
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
Jarilla
Jarilla is a genus in the Caricaceae family of Brassicales.-Species:The Jarilla genus has three plant species native to the Americas.*Jarilla chocola*Jarilla heterophylla*Jarilla nana-Common plant name:...
(in the lower parts of the mountains), chañares, aragua (on the slopes), tuscas
Acacia aroma
Acacia aroma is a small, perennial, thorny tree native to Bolivia, Peru, Argentina and Paraguay. Some common names for it are Aromita, Aromo Negro, Espinillo and Tusca. It is not listed as being a threatened species....
, chilcas and pichanas (in the wet valleys).
Among the animals living here are guanacos, vicuna
Vicuña
The vicuña or vicugna is one of two wild South American camelids, along with the guanaco, which live in the high alpine areas of the Andes. It is a relative of the llama, and is now believed to share a wild ancestor with domesticated alpacas, which are raised for their fibre...
s, fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
es, mice, Andean condors
Andean Condor
The Andean Condor is a species of South American bird in the New World vulture family Cathartidae and is the only member of the genus Vultur...
, lechuzos, chimangos, partridge
Partridge
Partridges are birds in the pheasant family, Phasianidae. They are a non-migratory Old World group.These are medium-sized birds, intermediate between the larger pheasants and the smaller quails. Partridges are native to Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East...
s, martinetas
Elegant Crested Tinamou
The Elegant Crested Tinamou or Martineta Tinamou, Eudromia elegans, is a medium-sized tinamou that can be found in southern Chile and Argentina in shrubland.-Etymology:...
, hare
Hare
Hares and jackrabbits are leporids belonging to the genus Lepus. Hares less than one year old are called leverets. Four species commonly known as types of hare are classified outside of Lepus: the hispid hare , and three species known as red rock hares .Hares are very fast-moving...
s and wild rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
s.
Hydrography
San Juan River (Argentina)
The San Juan River is, together with the Jáchal, the most important river of the Argentine province of San Juan. Both join the Desaguadero/Colorado system that end at the Atlantic Ocean....
. 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 pressureAtmospheric pressure
Atmospheric pressure is the force per unit area exerted into a surface by the weight of air above that surface in the atmosphere of Earth . In most circumstances atmospheric pressure is closely approximated by the hydrostatic pressure caused by the weight of air above the measurement point...
and humidity
Humidity
Humidity is a term for the amount of water vapor in the air, and can refer to any one of several measurements of humidity. Formally, humid air is not "moist air" but a mixture of water vapor and other constituents of air, and humidity is defined in terms of the water content of this mixture,...
are generally low and are at a minimum during the months of August and September due to the dry Zonda wind
Zonda wind
Zonda wind is a regional term for the foehn wind that often occurs on the eastern slope of the Andes, in Argentina. The Zonda is a dry wind which comes from the polar maritime air, warmed by descent from the crest, which is some 6,000 m above sea level...
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 JuanSan Juan, Argentina
San Juan is the capital city of the Argentine province of San Juan in the Cuyo region, located in the Tulúm Valley, west of the San Juan River, at above mean sea level, with a population of around 112,000 as per the ....
and to the south lies the district of Carpintería (San Luis)
Carpintería (San Luis)
Carpintería is a village and municipality in San Luis Province in central Argentina.-References:...
, where most of the population is involved in agriculture.
Economy
9,615 hectares of the department are under cultivation. Crops grown in the area include wine and table grape
Grape
A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...
s, vegetables (garlic
Garlic
Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...
, onion
Onion
The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
, tomatoes, squash, sweet potato
Sweet potato
The sweet potato is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the family Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. Of the approximately 50 genera and more than 1,000 species of...
, stud, peppers
Capsicum
Capsicum is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Its species are native to the Americas where they have been cultivated for thousands of years, but they are now also cultivated worldwide, used as spices, vegetables, and medicines - and have become are a key element in...
, alcaucil, bean
Bean
Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed....
s, mangold
Mangold
Mangold is an Old High German surname which may refer to:* Hans Carl Friedrich von Mangoldt , German mathematician** Von Mangoldt function, an arithmetic function* Hilde Mangold , German developmental biologist...
, lettuce
Lettuce
Lettuce is a temperate annual or biennial plant of the daisy family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable. It is eaten either raw, notably in salads, sandwiches, hamburgers, tacos, and many other dishes, or cooked, as in Chinese cuisine in which the stem becomes just as important...
, beet
Beet
The beet is a plant in the Chenopodiaceae family which is now included in Amaranthaceae family. It is best known in its numerous cultivated varieties, the most well known of which is the purple root vegetable known as the beetroot or garden beet...
, potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
es, corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
, peas
PEAS
P.E.A.S. is an acronym in artificial intelligence that stands for Performance, Environment, Actuators, Sensors.-Performance:Performance is a function that measures the quality of the actions the agent did....
, carrot
Carrot
The carrot is a root vegetable, usually orange in colour, though purple, red, white, and yellow varieties exist. It has a crisp texture when fresh...
), olive
Olive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
s, almond
Almond
The almond , is a species of tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. Almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree...
s and fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
(melon
Melon
thumb|200px|Various types of melonsThis list of melons includes members of the plant family Cucurbitaceae with edible, fleshy fruit e.g. gourds or cucurbits. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit...
, peach
Peach
The peach tree is a deciduous tree growing to tall and 6 in. in diameter, belonging to the subfamily Prunoideae of the family Rosaceae. It bears an edible juicy fruit called a peach...
, plum
Plum
A plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera in the shoots having a terminal bud and solitary side buds , the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one...
), forage
Forage
Forage is plant material 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 more loosely to include similar plants cut for fodder and carried to the animals, especially...
, timber
Afforestation
Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees in an area where there was no forest. Reforestation is the reestablishment of forest cover, either naturally or artificially...
and seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
.