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Moquehue is a small mountain settlement located in Aluminé department, Neuquén, Argentina. It aroses in the 40's, as a product of the development of cattle raising and forestation. Since these activities began, the permanent settlement and first commercial activities appeared, in order to cover the new demands. Nature has given the region a beautiful landscape that acquires value since the 70's, when the population of nearby localities began to usufruct tourism in the region. Even though the lands belong to the Provincial State, since 1984 they are under the control of the Pulmarí Interstate Corporation (PIC), which regulates their use. In 1980, tourism was stimulated by state politics that lead to the growth and expansion of Villa Pehuenia and Moquehue, defining a new territorial configuration, in which different social actors have an active role. In the last decade, this dynamism was accentuated in Moquehue, a zone without regulation of the occupation and in an area with limited provision of services. The objective of this paper was the analysis of territorial transformations promoted by social actors that established the current uses of the land and its environmental consequences, considering the role of municipal and provincial government in these transformations. Research includes compilation of information, interviews and field survey of new occupations. This information was digitized. Four relevant social actors are recognized in the development and growth of Moquehue, linked especially to tourism activity: the municipality, that defines parcels for permanent residential use and services; private actors, that increase accommodation supply; historical local people who subdivide and sell land irregularly, and new actors who settle in the area with permanent residence, linked to other activities that made them choose this place because of its environmental values. As a result, zones with different types of transformation are identified, in which these actors have a decisive role giving different characteristics and dynamics to each one. It can be concluded that the development of tourism in this region has promoted the expansion of Villa Pehuenia-Moquehue, however it has not been accompanied by management and ordering politics aimed in order to preserve the environment. Overlapping jurisdictions and land tenure have placed difficulties in control and regulation of urban growth and land use. This is also evidenced by the lack of infrastructure and provision of basic services in order to improve the life quality of the population, and respond to sustained growth and tourism demands.

La ciudad de Neuquén, capital de la provincia homónima, se encuentra asentada en el piso de los valles elaborados por los ríos Limay y Neuquén respectivamente y sobre la superficie, laderas y piedemonte de la meseta localizada hacia el norte del casco céntrico. Hasta la década del `70 la mancha urbana se encontraba rodeada de áreas agrícolas, de uso intensivo dotadas de infraestructura de riego y limitada por los cursos fluviales antes mencionados y por un relieve mesetiforme con un marcado escalón topográfico de fuertes pendientes disectado por una densa red de surcos y cárcavas. Este frente presenta estratos de dispar resistencia a los procesos imperantes originando, por ende, un perfil escalonado caracterizado por una sucesión de escarpas y conos de detritos que brindan una apariencia compleja al mismo. Se debe considerar que, para una mejor comprensión de la naturaleza y por ende para un adecuado ordenamiento territorial, es imprescindible conocer la dinámica natural de las regiones secas, la que pone en evidencia la diversidad de procesos morfogenéticos responsables de los modelados actuales. En el marco de las características climáticas imperantes, los procesos pedogenéticos o edáficos son débiles permitiendo de esta manera, que los procesos iniciales de meteorización o intemperismo, actúen directamente sobre los afloramientos rocosos influyendo sobre el modelado. La desagregación mecánica y los movimientos gravitacionales generan, a partir de la pendiente inicial, nuevas geoformas caracterizadas por la depositación de detritos, que enmascaran en sectores, la litología original. A ello se suman las modalidades propias de la acción del agua corriente, donde el escurrimiento, predominantemente concentrado, es función de dos valores fundamentales: la intensidad de los chaparrones por un lado, y la velocidad de infiltración en el suelo, por otro. Las escasas precipitaciones y la elevada evapotranspiración potencial definen un marco fisonómicamente homogéneo caracterizado por una estepa arbustiva rala, con elevados porcentajes de suelo desnudo. Además, la baja cobertura vegetal y la características propias de los suelos propician la acción directa del viento sobre la superficie favoreciendo los procesos de erosión -deflación, abrasión y atrición- y acumulación eólicos. Es por ello, que se considera la interacción de los elementos biofísicos de la naturaleza (clima, topografía, vegetación, suelos, agua), agentes y procesos generadores de las formas del relieve, en un abordaje sistémico a fin de entender la dinámica natural, preservar su equilibrio y generar las bases que conducirán a la elaboración de estrategias de ordenamiento territorial. Abstract The city of Neuquen, capital of the province, is located on the valleys' soils product or Limay and Neuquén rivers and on the surface, slopes and foothills of the plateau, located north of the town center. Up to 70s decade urban region was surrounded by agricultural areas, with intensive irrigation infrastructure and limited by rivers and relief with a marked topographic steep slope dissected by a dense network of rills and gullies. This front has layers with different resistance, then, a stepped profile with a succession of cliffs and debris cones that provide a complex look of the terrain. For a best understanding of nature and proper land management is essential to study the natural dynamics of dry regions. This demonstrates the diversity of morphogenetic processes responsible for the current modeling. Under the prevailing climatic conditions, soil pedogenic processes are weak or allowing the initial processes of weathering or weathering, act directly on the rocky outcrops influencing modeling. The mechanical breakdown and gravitational movements, generate from the initial slope, new landforms characterized by the deposition of debris, masking en some sectors, the original lithology. This is compounded by the action of running water, where runoff, predominantly concentrated, is based on two fundamental values: the intensity of rainfall, and the rate of infiltration. Low rainfall and intense evapotranspiration define a framework characterized by a homogeneous sparse shrub steppe, with elevated percentages of bare soil. Furthermore, the scarse plant covering and soil characteristics favor the direct action of wind on the surface incrementing the processes of erosion-deflation, abrasion and attrition, and build farms. This paper considers the interaction of biophysical elements of nature (climate, topography, vegetation, soil, water), agents and processes generating the forms of relief, in a systemic approach to understand the natural dynamics, to preserve balance and to generate the basis to elaborate land use strategies.