LOCAL HISTORYARTICLES
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INTRODUCTION Zapala is a city which geographically is in the center of Neuquen Province. It is about 185 Km from the capital of Neuquen and is about 1640 KM from Buenos Aires, it covers a surface area of 8000 ha. The actual inhabitants are 32,000. It can be defined as an adminnistrative city with importants things of public function (Police station, tribunal, etc.), like industrial (an industry dedicated to the minerals) and then frequent commercial locations. It has got a big facilities in service activity, (hotels, restaurants, service stations, etc.) like commercial (is nearly in its totality for products in every important market). If we are looking for other things, the means of communication, like airports, we have 2200 mts. long, railways between Buenos Aires – Bahia Blanca- Zapala. It has got the best bus station in the province, with a comfortable service. The national way (40 and 22) comunicate the north to south and east to west, the city with the neighbours Chile. In education has facilities from the pre-school education, up to the university. TECHNICAL THINGS. NAME OF THE CITY: Zapala CAPITAL : Neuquen SITUATION: 185 Km. from the capital INHABITANTS: 32,000 SURFACE: 8000 Ha FOUNDER: Arturo Trannack FOUNDED: 12 of JULY 1913 FIRST HABITANTS: Pedro Roberts. COMUNICATIONS WAY:
TOURIST TRIPS:
THE ARMY IN ZAPALA In 1943 Mrs Cristina María Tranack bought 754 ha. of "Zapala`s country" to build the barracks and nearby neighborhoods. At first there were buildings called caco`s of the country, some of them with modifications are part of official`s neighborhoods. The buildings were initiated in 1943 and finished in 1944, and they had a building of the guard, four big square fot the trop, a garrison infirmary, kitchens and ary`s dining-rooms, deposits, two sanitary bell tents, six places for mules water derick and the official`s neighborhood`s. In 1944 the deposits and the official casino were finished. ZAPALA`S MUSEUM HISTORY ANTECEDENTS OF ITS FOUNDATION
When the Provincial Direction of Mining was founded, the Department of Geological Service was created too. This department was denominated museum, for it was appropiately organized to be shown to the people interested in these matters. The museum opened its doors on May, 24th., 1969.This was the idea of a group of people among which we could find Don Gregorio Moreno, who was the Provincial Mining Director at that time and Mr. José Ignacio Garate Zubillaga, who donated his collections to star the museum. Later, on May 24th. 1972, the museum received its name: Professor Dr. Juan Augusto Olsacher. The museum is exclusively dedicated to the geological sciences, predominating mineralogy and paleonthology. These collections are considered of great value since they keep a record of the fauna evolution in a contex of 100 million years. It also has a library with extremely valuable books and data as for example a map from 1756. The collections you can find in the museum are: Systematic mineralogy: an ordered collection of 30540 minerals with specimens from 84 countries, including meteors. Economical minerals from Argentina and Neuquen. Precious and semi-precious stones. Petrology: a rock collection. Paleonthology divided into: Invertebrate systematic paleonthology : it has specimens that go from the Mesozoic to the Holocen. Invertebrates Paleonthology from Neuquen : it has a complete collection, being important the trigonias and Amonites. Vertebrate paleonthology : a collection of different groups and ages. Dinosaur rests, the older found in the province. A collection of marine reptiles: the most important in the country, unique specimens, like the plesiosaurus, ictiosaurus and an interesting collection of turtles, crocodiles and fish found in rocks. Paleobotanical collection. The museum has also worked in different projects tigether with the Museum and University from La Plata, National University from Córdoba, the University of Erlangen from Baviera, Germany and recent exchanges with the Museum Egidio Feruglio from Trelew, Chubut. The most important attractions are its mineralogy collection. The invertebrate paleonthology collection that show enormous amonites from the jurasic, the hervivorous dinosaur "zapalazaurus antipani", marine reptiles like the major turtle from the Tithonia. The head bones of a "mareasaurus coccai", the first plesiosaurus fromthe Botanian and a very important archeological collection donated by the Engineer Jorge Rambeaud. Authorities: The first director was Don José Ignacio Garate Zubillaga (1969-1992) The current director is Sergio Eduardo Cocca (1992, today) This page is created and maintained by Margaret Shearn(mshearn@netconnect.com.au) |
