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| coor_pinpoint = | coordinates_footnotes = List of sovereign states>CountryArgentina}}Provinces of Argentina>ProvinceNeuquén}}Departments of Argentina>DepartmentZapala Department>Zapala| established_title = Founded| established_date = July 12, 1913| founder = | government_footnotes = | leader_title = Mayor| leader_name = Carlos Koopmann | unit_pref = Metric| area_footnotes = | area_total_km2 = 452| area_note = | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = 1,012| population_footnotes = | population_total = 32,097| population_as_of = 2010 census| population_density_km2 = auto| population_demonym = | population_note = Time in Argentina>ART| utc_offset1 = -3Argentine postal code>CPA baseQ)8340Telephone numbering in Argentina>Dialing code| area_code = +54 2942Köppen climate classification>ClimateSemi-arid climate#Cold semi-arid climates>BSk| website = www.zapala.gob.ar/sitio/" title="web.archive.org/web/20130106173228www.zapala.gob.ar/sitio/">Official website| footnotes = }}Zapala is a city and touristic destination in the Patagonian province of Neuquén, Argentina with about 32,000 inhabitants according to the {{census-ar|2010}}.The city is located at the geographic center of the province at the confluence of national and provincial roads, on a route to the Andes and Chile. The city hosts a Loma Negra cement plant.WEB, Loma Negra cement,www.lomanegra.com/en/units/cement/, Loma Negra, 5 April 2019, Zapala is near the Laguna Blanca National Park and a ski resort and is situated in a steppe region, known as Pehuenia, which has small Araucaria forests and includes the nearby town of Aluminé and other towns.

History

{{stack|(File:Zapala 001.JPG|thumb|224x224px|Main roundabout of the town)}}Zapala was founded on 12 July 1913, and turned into a municipality in 1948. It was (and still is) located around a railway station built by the Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway, a British-owned company taken over by the Ferrocarril General Roca after railway nationalisation in 1948 and, since railway privatisation in 1993, in the hands of Ferrosur Roca. The city is split in two by the railways; on one side there is a commercial district with old buildings, and on the other a modern residential area.The station is a terminus at the end of the line from Bahía Blanca and Neuquén which was meant to continue across the Andes mountains into Chile. Construction was abandoned in the 1920s although resumption of construction was proposed in 2006.In 1918 Zapala was the starting point of the first flight by an airplane across the Andes, when Luis Candelaria flew to Cunco, Chile, on April 13.NEWS,www.lanacion.com.ar/93428-a-80-anos-del-primer-cruce-aereo-de-los-andes, A 80 años del primer cruce aéreo de los Andes, Luis Casabal, Diario La Nación, 13 April 1998, es, 26 April 2015, It is served by Zapala Airport.

Geography

Climate

The climate of Zapala is cold semi-arid (BSk, according tho the Köppen climate classification), bordering on a cool-summer Mediterranean climate (Csb). Winters are cold. The climate is also very windy during most of the year; Winds of {{convert|160|km/h}} have been registered. It may also snow an average of {{convert|30 – 40|cm}} every year.WEB, Zapala climate,en.climate-data.org/south-america/argentina/neuquen/zapala-19792/, Climate-Data, 5 April 2019, It is very dry, with about {{convert|369|mm}} of rain yearly. Summers can have high temperatures, up to {{convert|35|°C}}, with sunny and stable days and cool nights.{{Weather box|location = Zapala (modelled data)|metric first = yes|single line = yes|Jan high C = 26.8|Feb high C = 25.6|Mar high C = 21.9|Apr high C = 16.3|May high C = 11.1|Jun high C = 7.3|Jul high C = 6.6|Aug high C = 8.7|Sep high C = 12.0|Oct high C = 16.0|Nov high C = 20.8|Dec high C = 24.5|year high C =|Jan mean C = 18.9|Feb mean C = 18.0|Mar mean C = 14.6|Apr mean C = 10.0|May mean C = 6.0|Jun mean C = 2.8|Jul mean C = 1.8|Aug mean C = 3.4|Sep mean C = 5.9|Oct mean C = 9.4|Nov mean C = 13.5|Dec mean C = 16.8|year mean C =|Jan low C = 10.8|Feb low C = 10.5|Mar low C = 7.8|Apr low C = 4.6|May low C = 2.0|Jun low C = -0.5|Jul low C = -1.9|Aug low C = -0.7|Sep low C = 0.7|Oct low C = 3.4|Nov low C = 6.3|Dec low C = 9.1|year low C =|precipitation colour = green|Jan precipitation mm = 12|Feb precipitation mm = 17|Mar precipitation mm = 23|Apr precipitation mm = 33|May precipitation mm = 47|Jun precipitation mm = 62|Jul precipitation mm = 42|Aug precipitation mm = 37|Sep precipitation mm = 29|Oct precipitation mm = 33|Nov precipitation mm = 20|Dec precipitation mm = 14|year precipitation mm =|source 1 = Climate-Data.orgWEB }}

See also

• South Trans-Andean railway

References

{{reflist}}

External links

• {{Ar-mi-muni|NEU049}}
• Patagonia.com.ar - Portal of the Argentine Patagonia.