Maipú Department (Mendoza)

Maipu
Location of Maipú in Mendoza (Argentina)
Data
Capital	Maipu
population	153,600 (2001, INDEC)
surface	617 km²
Population density	248.9 inhabitants / km²

The Maipú department is located in the center of the Mendoza province in western Argentina and is one of the province's 18 administrative units . Together with the Departamentos Capital , Las Heras , Guaymallén , Luján de Cuyo and Godoy Cruz , it forms the Gran Mendoza agglomeration .

It borders in the north with the departments Lavalle and Guaymallén , in the east with the department San Martín , in the southeast with the department Junín , in the southwest with the department Luján de Cuyo and in the west with the department Godoy Cruz .

The capital of the Maipú department is the Maipú of the same name .

Districts

The Maipú Department is divided into the following districts:

• Coquimbito
• Cruz de Piedra
• Fray Luis Beltran
• General Gutierrez
• General Ortega
• Barrancas
• Lunlunta
• Luzuriaga
• Maipu
• Rodeo del Medio
• Russell
• San Roque

geography

The department is a lowland plain with a slight slope from southwest to northeast. From a geological point of view, this plain is a large sedimentary basin, the edges of which are formed in the west by the Andes and in the east by the granite elevations of the Zócalo de San Luis . In the extreme south are the peaks of Cerro de Lunlunta and Cerro Barrancas .

The middle course of the Río Mendoza crosses the extreme south of the department through the Distritos Lunlunta, Cruz de Piedra, Barrancas, Rodeo del Medio, Fray Luis Beltrán y San Roque. He has little water. Only in summer and during the desanding of the Cipoletti dam does the water level rise a little.

climate

The department tends to have a hot, moderately dry climate. The maximum temperatures reach 42.7 ° C, the minimum temperatures −9.2 ° C. The annual rainfall is around 200 mm. The prevailing wind directions are west / southwest.

history

The department was founded on May 31, 1858 by the then Gobernador of Mendoza, Juan Cornelio Moyano . It was named in memory of the Battle of Maipú , which was fought in Chile in 1818 during the wars of independence .

economy

The economic life of the department is characterized by fruit and wine growing. The number of wineries is large and for many years the department was the largest wine producer in the Cuyo region in Argentina. There are also a number of companies in the food industry.

Sports

Maipú is the home of the Club Deportivo Maipú football club , which plays in the 4th division .

Coordinates: 33 ° 0 ′  S , 68 ° 42 ′  W