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Mountain-Oases Faced with New Roads: Case Studies from the Andes and the Himalayas

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Oases and Globalization

Part of the book series: Springer Geography ((SPRINGERGEOGR))

Abstract

In the dry regions of high mountains , communities often live in small oases; relying on rivers fed by snow/glacial melt waters, villagers develop gravity -fed networks , so as to irrigate their surrounding valleys and terraces. Our two case studies, Uspallata (12 km2) in the Mendoza River Valley of the Central Argentinian Andes , and Mustang District (almost 2000 km2) in the Kali Gandaki Valley north of the Nepalese Himalayas , illustrate the functioning of oasis systems and recent changes brought about by the development of roads , related to their position close to international boundaries .

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Notes

  1. 1.

    All translations from Spanish or French are by the authors.

  2. 2.

    Archipelago: also see Chapter “Liwa: The Mutation of an Agricultural Oasis into a Strategic Reserve Dedicated to a Secure Water Supply for Abu Dhabi” by Cariou on Liwa. Like an island archipelago, an oasian archipelago is used to describe a group, chain or cluster of oases, generally linked to each other through a similar culture, heritage or use of resources, in a common network, forming a system.

  3. 3.

    Graben: geological term for a depression between faults, resulting from tectonic movements.

  4. 4.

    Firstly, it was very difficult to find quantitative data on Uspallata. This settlement is part of the Municipality of Las Heras (close to 9000 km² wide from the Chilean border to the heart of the Oasis of Mendoza). Most of the inhabitants live in the urban part of the Municipality [203,507 out of 207,507 in the total Municipality, according to the last 2010 Census (INDEC)], that is to say the northern part of the metropolitan area of Mendoza. Yet, data are available either at the municipality scale or at the urban area scale. Consequently, we will not give official data but figures taken from local newspapers (Los Andes, El Uno or Mendoza On Line). The majority of the given information is based on our own observations.

  5. 5.

    MERCOSUR: Mercado Común del Sur or Southern Common Market, is a sub-regional trade bloc with customs union, comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela, and associating bordering countries, such as Chile.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UMR CNRS PRODIG, University Paris-Diderot, Sorbonne-Paris-Cité, Paris, France

    Emilie Lavie & Monique Fort

  2. Université Paris-Diderot, 5 Rue T. Mann, CC7001, 75205, Paris Cedex 13, France

    Emilie Lavie & Monique Fort

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  1. Emilie Lavie
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Correspondence to Emilie Lavie .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Université Paris-Diderot, Paris, France

    Emilie Lavie

  2. Département de Géographie - UFR LSHS, University Paris 13-North, Villetaneuse, France

    Anaïs Marshall

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Lavie, E., Fort, M. (2017). Mountain-Oases Faced with New Roads: Case Studies from the Andes and the Himalayas. In: Lavie, E., Marshall, A. (eds) Oases and Globalization. Springer Geography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50749-1_8

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