Mendoza

Mendoza, a western department of the Argentine Republic, with an area of 55,000 sq. m., and a pop. (1895) of 114,814. The Andes occupy the western portion: Aconcagua (22,427 feet), the highest peak in America, is on the north-west frontier. The rest of the province is pampa land, fertile wherever it can be irrigated by the waters of the Mendoza and other streams, but elsewhere almost worthless. The annual rainfall is only 8 inches. Minerals, especially copper, abound, and are beginning to be worked; petroleum and coal have also been found. Vines flourish, and a large quantity of wine is exported to the other provinces.—The capital, Mendoza, 650 miles by rail W. by N. of Buenos Ayres, is on the transcontinental railway, which reached this point in 1884. It is a handsome town, lying among vineyards and gardens, 2320 feet above the sea; its streets have shade-trees and streams of running water, and the Alameda is the most beautiful on the continent. An active trade is carried on with Chili. An earthquake in 1861 destroyed Mendoza (founded 1559) and 13,000 of its 14,600 inhabitants; many of the ruins are still visible in the larger city which has been raised on its site. Pop. 20,000.