The city is located on the desert plains that characterise the whole province. The need to administer water and control nature has enabled Mendoza to become a mirage of great beauty and fertility in the middle of the desert. People from Mendoza are extremely aware of the importance of water and trees in their lives. They take water from defrosted snows from the nearby Andes mountain range, and lead it into the city by means of “acequias� (water canals). Sidewalks in Mendoza are famous for these canals, the trees besides them and their always neatly polished tiles. The most admirable thing about this city is that it was reborn from mere rubble. Even before the economic growth of Mendoza began, an earthquake almost completely destroyed the old city, to the extent that once redesigned and rebuilt, it was called “The New Mendoza� for many years. Wine making is the main economic activity of the province, through extensive vineyards. Wines from Mendoza enjoy great international prestige and are exported all over the world. Some time ago, a winemaking company from Mendoza won the award to the best wine in the world in a French exhibition. Mendoza is known as the “land of great sun and great wine�, but also as being the land of tidy, kind people, who really care about protecting the place where they live.