In older times it was the intermediate point in the railroad tracks of the Old Patagonian Express between the towns of Ingeniero Jacobacci and Esquel.

The town is located 5 km (3 mi) south of the 42 parallel (inter-province border between the provinces of Río Negro and Chubut), at 720 m (2,362 ft) AMSL.

The river's valley is of glacial origin, and in this region it runs in a north–south direction on the first highlands of the Andes to the west, and the ancient formations of Patagonia to the east.

This geographic region is a clear example of the transition between the humid wooded Andes areas to the West, and the classic more arid steppes of central Patagonia.

What started as a rural community was influenced greatly by the arrival of the General Roca railroad to the area in 1939, on a branch that continued to Esquel.