Cuyo (Argentina)

Cuyo is the name given to the wine-producing, mountainous area of central-west Argentina. Historically it comprised the provinces of San Juan, San Luis and Mendoza. The term New Cuyo is a modern one, which indicates both Cuyo proper and the province of La Rioja. New Cuyo is a political and economic macroregion, but culturally La Rioja is part of the North-West rather than Cuyo.

Cuyo has some of the most popular tourist attractions in Argentina and the highest mountain massifs in the Andes, including Aconcagua itself, the highest peak outside Asia, and the Ischigualasto Provincial Park.

The soil is arid and reddish, crossed by few rivers. Most of the rivers are fed by the thawing of snow on the peaks, and their volume of water increases considerably in spring. The Desaguadero River is the main collector, receiving waters from the Bermejo, Vinchina and Salado before reaching the Colorado River.

Viticulture is one of the main activities of the area. The wine production of the region represents almost 80% of national production, and the wines are highly considered in the world. Olives, potatoes, tomatoes and some fruits are also cultivated, and there is production of sweets and preserved foodstuffs. Quarrying and oil exploitation are other important industries.

The cities and towns in the region are characterised by colonial low houses and churches, and narrow streets, contrasting in the principal cities with the modern parts. The Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, founded in 1939, is the most important within these provinces, and has its campus in Mendoza, but has faculties as far as Río Negro.

Atuel River, Mendoza Province.
Las Leñas ski resort
Cuyo highlights a considerable agro-industrial production of wine.

Cuyo Province by GDP (Nominal) and GDP per capita

This article includes a list of Cuyo Province sorted by their Gross Domestic Product (nominal) per capita, the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year, divided by the average population for the same year. The table below includes data for the year 2013 for the 23 provinces

Rank	Province	GDP	Comparable country	($) per capita	Comparable country
1	Mendoza	22,023	Zambia	11,957	Libya
2	San Juan	7,341	Niger	10,170	Costa Rica
3	San Luis	6,117	Guinea	13,201	Poland
4	La Rioja	2,447	Maldives	6,844	China

Table of Cuyo provinces according to the 2001 census [INDEC].

Province	Population	% of Cuyo	Area (km²)	% of Cuyo	Density (inhab/km²)
Mendoza	1,579,651	55.28	148,827	36.76	10.6
San Juan	620,023	21.70	89,651	22.14	6.9
San Luis	367,933	12.88	76,748	18.95	4.8
La Rioja	289,983	10.15	89,680	22.15	3.2
Cuyo Total	2,857,590	100	404,906	100	7.1
Argentina Total	36,260,130	-	2,780,403¹	-	13.0

Tourism

As in other parts of Argentina, nature tourism is an important source of income, amongst sites that receive a large number of visitors, the following are its main attractions:

Aconcagua

Fiesta Nacional de la Vendimia

Las Leñas

Biosphere Reserve of Ñacuñán

San Rafael

Barreal

Difunta Correa

Ischigualasto

El Trapiche

Merlo