Las Heras Department

Las Heras

Departamento de Las Heras
Las Heras Departamento de Las Heras
Department
	location of Las Heras Department in Mendoza Province
	Coordinates: 32°51′S 68°49′W / 32.850°S 68.817°W
Country	Argentina
Established	January 31, 1871
Founded by	?
Seat	Las Heras
Government
• Mayor	Francisco Lo Presti, UCR
Area
• Total	8,955 km2 (3,458 sq mi)
Population (2001 census [INDEC])
• Total	182,962
• Density	20/km2 (53/sq mi)
Demonym	lasherino/na
Postal Code	M5539
IFAM	MZA006
Area Code	0261
Patron saint	?
Website	web.archive.org/web/20080820082720/http://www.lasheras-mendoza.gov.ar/

Las Heras is a department located in the north west of Mendoza Province in Argentina.

The provincial subdivision has a population of about 183,000 inhabitants in an area of 8,955 km² (3,458 sq mi), and its capital city is Las Heras, which is located around 1,095 km (680 mi) from the Capital federal. The province's international airport, Governor Francisco Gabrielli International Airport is located within this subdivision.

Name

The Partido and its capital are named after General Juan Gregorio de las Heras (1780-1866), a military leader during the Argentine War of Independence.

Districts

Geography

The mountains of the Andes act as a natural border between Argentina and Chile, the mountain range forms much of the western part of the department of Las heras.

Mount Aconcagua is located in Las Heras Department, at 6,962 metres above sea level it holds many records, including:

The highest mountain in South America.
The Highest Mountain in all of the Americas.
The highest mountain in the Southern Hemisphere.
The highest mountain outside of the continent of Asia.

The people of Las Heras are proud to have such an important mountain in their department, and as one of the Seven Summits it brings a great number of mountaineers and sightseers to the region.