The city of San Martín de los Andes was the last city founded by Roca during his Campaña del Desierto ("Desert Campaign"), when Argentina conquered its southern territory in the Patagonia. It was modeled like a European style alpine village and its main economic activities were wood logging and husbandry. A major change in settlement life came when in 1937 Lanín National Park was created. This meant that wood logging was gradually reduced and numerous small settlements along the lake shore disappeared. New roads were built effectively connecting San Martín with the rest of Argentina. This led to an increased trade that almost ended local husbandry and agriculture. In the 1970s with the help of bank credits many tourism enterprises were established in San Martín making the town up to this day an important tourism center, especially during winter when the ski pistes are open.
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