Rincón de los Sauces is a first category municipality and the capital of Pehuenches Department

Pehuenches Department

-Geography:The Department limits at north with Mendoza province, at northeast with La Pampa Province and at east with -Geography:The Department limits at north with [[Mendoza province]], at northeast with [[La Pampa Province]] and at east with -Geography:...

 in Neuquén Province

Neuquén Province

Neuquén is a province of Argentina, located in the west of the country, at the northern end of Patagonia. It borders Mendoza Province to the north, Rio Negro Province to the southeast, and Chile to the west...

, Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

.

History

The area was first populated by settlers around the end of the 19th and the start of the 20th century, until a flood of the Barrancas River

Barrancas River

The Barrancas River is a river in western Argentina. Traveling eastward from the Andes range, it separates the Argentine provinces of Mendoza and Neuquén. Joining the Río Grande, it merges into the Colorado, and flows into the Atlantic Ocean.-References:...

 caused the destruction of several buildings and a consequent population decline. After the flood, the main economic activity in the zone was based on cattle farming. YPF, then the state oil concern, discovered petroleum

Petroleum

Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...

 under Puesto Hernández in 1965, and subsequently, the population grew rapidly. Officially chartered on December 20, 1970, the town is named for the willow trees (sauce) that abound in the region.

Economy

The town has been declared the National Energy Eapital due to its having 50% of the proven reserves of oil and natural gas

Natural gas

Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...

in Argentina. The town is served by a regional airport.