ARGENTINA

ARGENTINA.

International Fair of Aconcagua, Mendoza, 1990.
Laguna de Horcones and Mount Aconcagua.
Stamps issued on 03.03.1990.
Face value: 500 and 500 Argentine australes.
Design: Gabriela Ojeda.
Printed by Casa de Moneda, Buenos Aires.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Print: 208,000 copies.
Size: 68 x 45 mm.

Catalogs
- Götig and Jalil No. 2480-2481.
- Gz (Gefiloza) No. 1996-1997.
- Michel No. 2012-2013.
- Scott No. 1677.
- StampWorld No. 2038-2039.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 2192-2193.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 1713-1714.

Aconcagua is a mountain in the Cordillera Principal of the Andes, in the Argentine province of Mendoza, 15 km (9 mi) from the border with Chile. It is the highest mountain in America, with an elevation of 6,961 m (22,838 ft). It is bounded by the Valle de las Vacas to the north and east and the Valle de los Horcones Inferior to the west and south. It was created by the subduction of the Nazca plate under the South American plate, and from the Upper Cretaceous to the Miocene it was an active volcano. On its slopes are several glaciers. The mountain and its surroundings are part of the Aconcagua Provincial Park.

The Europeans' first attempt to reach its summit was made in 1883 by a team led by the German geologist and explorer Paul Güssfeldt, who reached only an altitude of 6,500 m (21,300 ft). The first recorded ascent is that of an expedition led by Edward FitzGerald between 1896 and 1897, which despite eight attempts failed to reach the top, but the (Swiss) guide of the expedition, Matthias Zurbriggen, reached the summit on 14 January 1897.

For the Incas, Aconcagua and other mountains of the Andes were sacred mountains, considered "living mountains" (Apus, which means "lord" or "lady"), and on their slopes they built places of worship where they made sacrifices.