Founded in 1892 by Tomás Mason, Santa Rosa did not develop into a relatively important agricultural centre until the second half of the 20th century.

It is still one of the smallest provincial capitals of the country after Patagonian Rawson, Ushuaia and Viedma.

City sights include the Fitte neighbourhood (1930), the monument to San Martín, the Palace of Justice, the Teatro Español Theatre (1908), the Provincial Art Museum (with paintings by Raúl Soldi, Antonio Berni, Quinquela Martín and other important Argentine painters) and the Provincial Natural History Museum.

The town occupies part of a centripetal basin having their base in Don Tomás Lagoon, where rainwater drains from the surrounding area.

The floor area lies west of it, in hilly terrain where the highest elevations are in the east, with two small plateaus located 200 meters.