Division Administrativa

The district is made up of seventeen DISTRITOS:
Ciudad, El Cerrito, Cuadro Nacional, Las Malvinas, Las Paredes, La Llave, Cuadro Benegas, Cuadro Nacional, Canada Seca, Goudge, Jaime Prats, Monte Coman, Rama Caida, Real del Padre, Punta del Agua, Villa Atuel y Villa 25 de Mayo.
Population: 173.571 inhabitants (2001)
Density: 5.6 hab/ Km2 (2001)
Geographical location: 34º 15' a 36º' South latitude y 70º 10' a 66º' 55' West Longitude.
Surface: 31235 Km2 (20.82 % of the province) Height: 750 m above the level of the sea.

How to get to San Rafael

By car
From the province of Buenos Aires(990km)
National Route 188 is the shortest way linking Buenos Aires city and The Andes Mountain Range. Take National Route 7 in Junin(Buenos Aires) up to General Alvear(Mendoza). Then, go along only 90km on National route 143.
From the South of Argentina
From Neuquen city, take National Route 151 up to Santa Isabel in the province of La Pampa. Then, take National Route 143 up to San Rafael city.
From the North of Argentina
Get to Mendoza Capital city, reach the “South Access” and drive along trough the Valle de Uco and Tunuyan city, 240km up to San Rafael.
From the provinces of San Luis or Cordoba
From National Route 7 in San Luis city, take National Route 146, and go along 273km from the Heart of Mendoza-San Rafael city.

By plane
In San Rafael Airport, only 7km from downtown, Argentine Airlines operates flights from Buenos Aires to San Rafael-Mendoza.From Mondays to Saturdays
Departure: 7.10am- Jorge Newbery Airport (AEP)
Arrival: 9.45am-San Rafael Airport(AFA)

Public Transportation
There are 4 public transportation companies from Buenos Aires to San Rafael that provide daily services.
Departure: Retiro or Liniers Bus Stations (Buenos Aires)
Arrival: San Rafael Bus Station (Mendoza)

more information:
www.sanrafaeltodo.com
www.mendoza.gov.ar
www.sanrafael.gov.ar

Geographical features

Relief
From West to East the relief is conformed by 4 geomorphologic units
a) The local mountain range corresponds to a Tertiary period formation built up over Mesozoic basements. Here, The Andes Mountain Range presents a lower average height than in the rest of the province.
b) The Huarpes depression is 300 km long and 50 km wide. This structural unit is plain and filled in with Quaternary sediments coming from different origins such as volcanoes, erosions and fluvial effluents.
c) The plate of San Rafael is situated in the centre of the district. It is a low and plain area, South-oriented, with vast signs of erosion and sediments in the lowest areas.
d) The Travesia plain also constitutes a low and flat surface which occupies the western zone of the district.
Having undergone many erosive processes, It is an arid zone with cultivated oasis.

Climate
San Rafael is within the mild area in Argentina characterized by a great atmospheric dynamism. The annual average temperature varies from 8.1 to 23.1 C. The annual rainfall pattern is 343 mm distributed mainly between September and February.
The climate favours the agricultural activities due to the media temperature, light intensity, little cloudiness, soft winds and low humidity.

Lakes and Rivers
San Rafael is situated between two important rivers:
The Diamante River (with a volume of water of 65 m3/sg) and the Atuel River (with a volume of water of 60 m3/sg).
Outstanding engineering constructions like Valle Grande, El Nihuil, Los Reyunos, Agua del Toro, El Tigre and Galileo Vitale dykes have been built up for human consumption, and hydroelectric power generation.