Cinco Saltos is a city in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Río Negro, Argentina, located on the eastern side of the valley of the

Neuquén River The Neuquén River () is the second most important river of the province of Neuquén in the Argentine Patagonia, after the Limay River. Rocks of the Neuquén Basin are fossiliferous, and the basin hosts what may become important fields of ti ...

, near the Pellegrini Lake, about from northwest of

Neuquén Neuquén (; arn, Nehuenken) is the capital city of the Argentine province of Neuquén and of the Confluencia Department, located in the east of the province. It occupies a strip of land west of the confluence of the Limay and Neuquén river ...

and from

Allen Allen, Allen's or Allens may refer to: Buildings * Allen Arena, an indoor arena at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee * Allen Center, a skyscraper complex in downtown Houston, Texas * Allen Fieldhouse, an indoor sports arena on the Unive ...

. It has 19,819 inhabitants as per the . The name ''Cinco Saltos'' (literally "Five Waterfalls") refers to the five-level steps of the

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

that starts upstream at the

Ingeniero Ballester Dam The Ingeniero Ballester Dam is a dam on the Neuquén River, in the Argentine Patagonia. The top of the dam doubles as a road bridge. The dam is located near the town of Barda del Medio, province of Río Negro, downstream from the El Chañar ...

and passes by the eastern limit of the city. It is also host city of the annual La Picasa International Film Festival.

History

The first settlers came to this land in 1914. At first, the layout of the town was made in the northern area of the railroad, but in 1918 floods covered the lots and prevented further building. On 16 September 1925, the Village Development Committee was formed. During the early years, the city did not have health care, only itinerant doctors. By 3 January 1960, the local rural hospital was founded, in presence of the then Governor Edgardo Castello. The city's growth was boosted by the creation of a caustic soda, chlorine and vinyl monomer production plant. This factory improved the income of ordinary workers and professional and it made it possible to build of the chemistry oriented Industrial School No. 1 Dr. Armando Novelli. However, it was ratified by several reports of CODEMA that the factory has caused pollution. Although in 1992 the company filed for bankruptcy, and in 1995 it closed, causing a large depression in the jobs positions, and emigration from the city. For 2004, the population began to increase due to the change in oil exploration and exploitation, using professionals in the city, and otherwise serving as a city of residence of the complex population Neuquén (Capital).

Mystery

The town is also known as "City of Witches" due to its reports of

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...

activity. There is a place called Bajo Negro where witchcraft is done. Paranormal occurrences of UFO sightings have also been reported in parts surrounding the

Pellegrini Pellegrini may refer to: People * Pellegrini (surname), an Italian surname Cities * Carlos Pellegrini, Santa Fe, a city in Santa Fe Province, Argentina *Pellegrini, Buenos Aires, a city in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina Fish *'' Labeo pellegrin ...

and The Arroyones Lake. In 2009, an intact corpse of an 8- to 12-year-old girl who had died in the 1930s was found in a cemetery

ossuary An ossuary is a chest, box, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years the ...

Etymology

The town's original name was La Picasa, a horse hair Picaza baguala who roamed the area. Years later, at the opening of the railway station, it was named Cinco Saltos, referred to the falls of the canal that run near the same.

Population

It had 17,739 inhabitants (INDEC, 2001), representing a decrease of 6.3% compared with 18,931 inhabitants (INDEC, 1991) the previous census. Cinco Saltos population has declined over the last two official censuses. For its population, Cinco Saltos held on 7th place in the province of Río Negro.

Tourism

On 29 April 2009, Cinco Salto’s community shared the longest apple pie in the world, which was 201 meters. This was organized to benefit the local volunteer firefighters and it was baked by the prestigious baker Osvaldo Gross in honor to the province’s most important fruit, the apple. In the following year, the giant apple pie was baked again. This time it reached 258 meters and included 10 meters of gluten free dough. In 2011 the apple pie was baked for the first time in a different city, this one being Buenos Aires.

References

* {{ar-mi-muni, RNO008 * Civitas/PSI
Cinco Saltos municipal portal
Populated places in Río Negro Province Populated places established in 1911 1911 establishments in Argentina