San Juan | |
---|---|
City | |
Nickname(s): "Oasis City" | |
Location in Argentina | |
Coordinates: 31°32′03″S 68°31′34″W / 31.53417°S 68.52611°W | |
Country | Argentina |
Province | San Juan |
Department | Capital Department |
Settled | 1562 |
Founded by | Juan Jufré |
Government | |
• Mayor | Marcelo Lima |
Area | |
• City | 30 km2 (10 sq mi) |
Elevation | 640 m (2,100 ft) |
Population (2001) | |
• City | 112,778 |
• Density | 3,759.3/km2 (9,737/sq mi) |
• Urban | 453,000 |
• Demonym | sanjuanino |
Time zone | ART (UTC−3) |
CPA Base | J 5400 |
Area code(s) | +54 264 |
Website | Official website |
San Juan (Spanish pronunciation: [saŋ ˈxwan]) 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 650 m (2,133 ft) above mean sea level, with a population of around 112,000 as per the 2001 census [INDEC] (over 500,000 in the metropolitan area).
It is a modern city with wide streets and well drawn avenues with wide sidewalks and vegetation of different species of trees irrigated by canals, from which it derives its nickname oasis town.
It has an important accommodation infrastructure and transportation. It highlights modern buildings and the surroundings, the reservoir and Ullum dam, spas, museums, large plantations of vines, and various types of agriculture, with wine being the most important.
Before the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadores, the Huarpe Indians inhabited this area.
San Juan de la Frontera was founded on June 13, 1562 by Juan Jufré at the shore of the San Juan River. In 1593 flooding damaged the town, for which reason its setting was moved 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) south to its current location.
San Juan was a sleepy, provincial town during colonial times (1562–1810) and took practically no part in the internal wars that devastated Argentina in its so-called Organizational Period (1820-1860.) Two of the most prominent members of the 1816 Congress of Tucumán which declared Argentina's independence from Spain, however, came from San Juán: Francisco Narciso de Laprida, who was president of the congress, and San Juan's bishop Friar Justo Santa María de Oro, a Dominican friar and an eloquent speaker whose persuasive oratory was largely responsible for Argentina becoming a republic and not a monarchy like Brazil.