Ullum is a department of the

Argentinean Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish language, Spanish (Grammatical gender, masculine) or (Grammatical gender, feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be resident ...

province of

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

. It is located in the center of the province and its landscape is dominated by mountains and low vegetation. Its seat is

Villa Ibáñez Villa Ibáñez is a locality located in the south-central province of San Juan, west of the agricultural oasis of Ullúm, northwest of the city of San Juan, Argentina. It is the seat of the Ullúm Department. Today, the town is the nucleus of an ...

. It is also characterized by the production of

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...

s and

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

. The San Juan River is dammed by the Ullum Dam.

Origin of name

The name of this department is of Indian origin, translated as ''head of the penis''. This may refer to the place where rituals were held for aspiring young

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

warriors or to the fertility of the land in the area, alluding directly to male fertility.

Geography

The department is located in the center west of the San Juan Province, northwest of the City of San Juan. It has a surface area of 4,391 square kilometers. It is bordered by: *

Jáchal Department Jáchal is a department of the province of San Juan (Argentina). It is located north of the same by making, characterized by its first level agricultural production, which emphasizes the planting of onion. The city is also known as the cradle of ...

to the north *

Zonda Department Zonda Department (Spanish: ''Departamento Zonda'') is an administrative department of San Juan Province in Argentina. Zonda is located in the south of the province, bordered by Ullum Department to the north, Sarmiento Department to the south, C ...

and Rivadavia Department to the south *

Albardón Department Albardón () is a department of the San Juan Province (Argentina). It is located in the center south of the same, which emphasizes a desert landscape with mountains and numerous plantations, highlighting the presence of prestigious wineries know ...

to the east *

Calingasta Department Calingasta is a department of the province of San Juan (Argentina). It is the southwestern corner of the province, which is predominantly a landscape of mountains and rivers. It is characterized by its production of apples and by tourism, mainly in ...

and

Iglesia Department Iglesia is a department of the province of San Juan Province (Argentina), San Juan, Argentina. It is located in the northwest mountainous corner of this province with substantial vegetation. Iglesia is one of the most visited departments in the pr ...

to the west. Ullum is entirely located on the center and foothills of the San Juan Cordillera. Between the mountains are prominent hills: the Lomadas de Las Tapias, Talacasto, Dehesa and Villicum to the east and the Sierra del Tigre and Sierra de la Invernada to the west. In the south of the department the San Juan River is dammed by the Ullum Dam. The climate is

arid A region is arid when it severely lacks available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Regions with arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic. Most ar ...

with little precipitation. Temperature ranges from in summer (with highs up to ) to during the dry winters, with lows of . The climate is influenced by the Ullum dam lake and by occasional snowfall in the Talacasto area. The flora is characterized by

xerophyte A xerophyte (from Ancient Greek language, Greek ξηρός ''xeros'' 'dry' + φυτόν ''phuton'' 'plant') is a species of plant that has adaptations to survive in an environment with little liquid water, such as a desert such as the Sahara or pl ...

s. The fauna includes species such as

hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The ge ...

puma Puma or PUMA may refer to: Animals * ''Puma'' (genus), a genus in the family Felidae ** Puma (species) or cougar, a large cat Businesses and organisations * Puma (brand), a multinational shoe and sportswear company * Puma Energy, a mid- and d ...

viscacha Viscacha or vizcacha (, ) are rodents of two genera (''Lagidium'' and ''Lagostomus'') in the family Chinchillidae. They are native to South America and convergently resemble rabbits. The five extant species of viscacha are: *The plains visca ...

Elegant Crested Tinamou The elegant crested tinamou or martineta tinamou (''Eudromia elegans'') is a medium-sized tinamou that can be found in southern Chile and Argentina in Shrubland. The bird has an omnivorous diet. This species is terrestrial due to their poor flyi ...

guanaco The guanaco (; ''Lama guanicoe'') is a camelid native to South America, closely related to the llama. Guanacos are one of two wild South American camelids, the other being the vicuña, which lives at higher elevations. Etymology The guanaco g ...

s, various forest birds and silversides.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ullum Department Departments of San Juan Province, Argentina