Neuquén (Spanish pronunciation: [newˈken]) is a province of Argentina, located in the west of the country, at the northern end of Patagonia.

The term "Neuquén" derives from the Mapudungun a local dialect of the Mapuche language word "Nehuenken" meaning drafty, which the aborigines used for the river.

[6] During the independence wars initiated by José de San Martín the local natives' rumored the imminent arrival of Spanish Crown Loyalist troops to Patagonia, either from the Chilean port of Chiloé coming from Alto Peru or by the Spanish settlemts in The Patagonian Islands, were common among Mapuches indigenous peoples and of the northern Patagonia Pampas of Argentina.

[8][7] In Varvarco, far from the de facto territory of the Republic of Chile and the United Provinces, the Pincheira brothers established a permanent encampment with thousands of settlers.

In 1879 Julio Argentino Roca started the Conquest of the Desert (Conquista del Desierto) that finally broke the aboriginal resistance.

At the beginning of the 20th century the railway reached the city of Neuquén, and a new irrigation system was finished, facilitating the production and later transportation of crops.

Migrating to Argentina, the Sapag family arrived in Neuquén Territory around 1910 with the railroad, eventually making their home in Zapala, whose dry, fertile mountain valleys and orchards were reminiscent of their native Lebanon.

Because of social unrest, Elias Sapag and two younger brothers, Felipe and Amado, started the MPN, an active political movement rooted in federalism and greater local rights over the territory and its resources.

Although he was elected governor in 1962 representing the Movimiento Popular Neuquino, a coup against progressive President Arturo Frondizi that March prevented Sapag from taking office.

His emphasis on public works and political independence from Buenos Aires have helped him and his successors with the MPN win every province-wide election since.

[10] Because the Andes block most of the moisture from the Pacific Ocean from coming in, causing it to release most of the precipitation on its western slopes, most of the province is dry, averaging less than 200 mm (7.9 in) a year.

[10] During the winter months, this high is displaced to the north, allowing frontal and low pressure systems from the west to come in, resulting in higher precipitation during this season.

The province generates a significant part of Patagonia's electric power through the hydroelectric plants of Piedra del Águila, El Chocón, Pichi Picún Leufú, Planicie Banderita (in the Cerros Colorados Complex), and Alicurá.

Another important activity is the production of apples, pears, peaches and others, specially in the Alto Valle area, shared with Río Negro.

A destination of many Argentines and foreigners, the province has a number of year-round attractions, including: During the winter, there are the ski resorts in Chapelco, Cerro Bayo and Caviahue.

Many hike or fish, mainly for river trout, the lake district region of Southwestern Neuquén that stretches into Río Negro and Chubut Provinces.

There were a number of dinosaurs in the area, of which the bones of a 95 million years old Argentinosaurus are in display at the Carmen Funes Museum in Plaza Huincul.