Miramar is a town in
San Justo Department, located in
Córdoba Province (Argentina).
Overview
Established on November 18, 1924, with the inauguration by Victorio Rosso of the Hotel Miramar, a
health resort
A destination spa or health resort is a resort centered on a spa, such as a mineral spa. Historically, many such spas were developed at the location of natural hot springs or mineral springs; in the era before modern biochemical knowledge and ...
, Miramar was the site of a number of
mineral spa
Mineral spas are spa resorts developed around naturally occurring mineral springs. Like seaside resorts, they are mainly used recreationally although they also figured prominently in prescientific medicine.
Origins
Spas were used for millen ...
s from its early days, and in 1933, a
jitney service was started between the town and the provincial capital,
Córdoba. The relocation to Miramar of Máximo Palkhe, a businessman from
Avellaneda (a suburb of
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
), in 1936, was followed by his decision to have a luxury hotel built on the shores of
Mar Chiquita, a
saline lake
A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salt (chemistry), salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of ...
, in 1940. The decision led to the development of other tourist facilities in the hamlet, and Palkhe's Gran Hotel Vienna (named for his wife's birthplace), was inaugurated in 1945. The Palkhes sold the hotel in 1946, and relocated to
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, however, and the establishment, which closed in 1980, has been at the center of a number of mysteries and controversies in the decades since.
The town became a significant center of
tourism in Argentina
Argentina has a vast territory and a variety of climates and microclimates ranging from tundra and polar in the south to the tropical climate in the north, through a vast expanse of temperate climate. Natural wonders include the Aconcagua, the hi ...
from the 1950s to the 1970s, and Miramar, home to 110 hotels in its heyday, grew to around 4,500 inhabitants by the 1970 Census. During that latter decade, however, inflows from the
Dulce,
Primero
Primero (in English also called Primus, ', or in Italian '' or Spanish ''Primera'')'', is a 16th-century gambling card game of which the earliest reference dates back to 1526. Primero is closely related to the game of primo visto (a.k.a. prima-v ...
, and
Segundo River
The Segundo River ( es, Río Segundo, 'Second River'), also known as Xanaes, is a river in the center-north of the provinces of Argentina, province of Córdoba Province (Argentina), Córdoba, Argentina. It is born in the Paravachasca Valley at the ...
s into Mar Chiquita increased significantly as a result of the
Florentino Ameghino
Florentino Ameghino (born Giovanni Battista Fiorino Giuseppe Ameghino September 19, 1853 – August 6, 1911) was an Argentine naturalist, paleontologist, anthropologist and zoologist, whose fossil discoveries on the Argentine Pampas, especially ...
water cycle
The water cycle, also known as the hydrologic cycle or the hydrological cycle, is a biogeochemical cycle that describes the continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth. The mass of water on Earth remains fairly cons ...
(which prognosticated higher rainfall after 1970), and longstanding
deforestation
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...
in the
Gran Chaco
The Gran Chaco or Dry Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semiarid lowland natural region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, western Paraguay, northern Argentina, and a portion of the Brazilian states of Mato ...
region (north of the area). Record floods in 1977 and 1986 devastated Miramar, and the town was relocated 5 km (3 mi) to the south, to higher ground, in 1992, when most of the flooded ruins were demolished.
Amid a significant recovery in the
Argentine economy
The economy of Argentina is the second-largest national economy in South America, behind Brazil. Argentina is a developing country with a highly literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a diversified industrial base.
...
after 2004, tourism in Miramar began to recover. The town, in 2009, was home to 1,527 hotel rooms,
[''La Voz del Interior'' ]
/ref> and was named Top Natural Wonder of Córdoba Province by a reader survey conducted by ''La Voz del Interior
''La Voz del Interior'' is a daily Spanish language newspaper edited and published in Córdoba, capital of the province of Córdoba, Argentina and the second-largest city in the country. The newspaper is the leading daily in Córdoba, and one of ...
''.Tourist information
/ref> Site of a wildlife refuge
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...
since 1966, Miramar is also home to the Loma de los Indios Birdwatching Station, and the Miramar Biological Station.[
]
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miramar
Populated places in Córdoba Province, Argentina
Populated places established in 1924
Tourism in Argentina
Populated lakeshore places in Argentina