Zonda has a hilly landscape with sparse vegetation and its economy centers around wine and fruit cultivation, as well as tourism.

When the Spanish arrived in the region in the 16th century, following the establishment of San Juan de la Frontera, they did not immediately settle in Zonda.

[further explanation needed] The late 17th and 18th centuries saw the beginning of Spanish agricultural conversion of the region, when land owners such as Matias Sanchez de Loria and Cornelius Albarracín (maternal grandfather of Domingo Faustino Sarmiento) began using the land to cultivate grapes and olives.

Marquesado had been founded in the late 19th century by the Echezarreta brothers, and it popularized the Quebranda de Zonda, a ravine on the district's eastern border, as a summer resort within the province.

Its border to the north with Ullum Department is divided by the San Juan River, along which sit the Punta Negra and Los Caracoles dams.

The highest mountain peak within Zonda is the Blanco de las Cuevas, reaching 4190 meters in height.

In the mountainous western part of the department, the fauna includes cougar, guanacos, condors, eagles, falcons, and owls.