ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter is to document the lasting nature of economic, social and cultural relations between the province of Neuquén, in north-western Patagonia, and central Chile. More than a mere natural obstacle or common political boundary, the Andean Range constituted for centuries the axis of an integrated social space. Indeed, since times remote, the territory of Neuquén has functioned as an integral part of Chile’s urban regional economy, serving as a hinterland for that country’s principal Pacific Ocean ports.
