Río Gallegos([ˈri.oɣaˈʝeɣos]) is the capital and largest settlement of thePatagonianprovinceofSanta CruzinArgentina.Located in the department ofGüer Aike,it has a population of about 98,000, according to the 2010census[INDEC],a 24% increase from the 79,000 in the 2001census[INDEC].The city bears the name of theGallegos River,and sits on itsestuary2,636 km (1,638 mi) south from the Argentine federal capitalBuenos Aires.
Río Gallegos | |
|---|---|
 The Harbour of Rio Gallegos, Our Lady of Luján Cathedral Parish, Gallegos river, Rio Gallegos airport and San Martín Avenue | |
  Río Gallegos Location of Río Gallegos in Argentina  Río Gallegos Río Gallegos (Argentina) | |
| Coordinates:51°37′24″S69°12′58″W/ 51.62333°S 69.21611°W | |
| Country |  Argentina |
| Province |  Santa Cruz |
| Department | Güer Aike |
| Founded | 19 December 1885 |
| Founded by | Ramón Lista |
| Government | |
| •Intendant | Roberto Giubetich |
| Elevation | 20 m (66 ft) |
| Population (2010 census) | |
• Total | 97,742 |
| Time zone | UTC−3(ART) |
| CPA base | Z9400 |
| Dialing code | +54 2966 |
| Climate | BSk |
| Website | Official website |
Established on 19 December 1885 to increase Argentine power over southern Patagonia, Río Gallegos became the capital of the then Territory of Santa Cruz in 1888, retaining its status when the territory became a province in 1957.Néstor Kirchner,laterPresident of Argentina,served as the city's mayor from 1987 to 1991 and is interred in amausoleumin the city's cemetery.
History
editIn 1525 Spanish explorerGarcía Jofre de Loaísabecame the first European to reach the Gallegos River, and named itRío San Idelfonso.Simón de Alcazaba y Sotomayor's 1535 expedition was the first to name the river"Río Gallegos".The area was not settled by Europeans until much later, with the settlement established 19 December 1885, when the Argentine government wished to better express its sovereignty over southernPatagonia– a naval base was created which increased the development of the town. Between 1912 and 1920, the government encouraged settlers from theFalkland Islandsand southernChilewith preferential farming conditions. Some 3,000 arrived and boosted the town. Assheep-farming increased, Río Gallegos became the principal port for exporting sheep and their products. The Pioneers Museum is a preserved old Patagonian house exhibiting the life of the early settlers.
GovernorRamón Listadecided to move the Territorial Capital fromPuerto Santa Cruzto Río Gallegos in 1888; official ratification of this decision came on 19 May 1904. The Cathedral of Our Lady of Luján was consecrated in 1900. The Territory of Santa Cruz was declared aProvincein 1957, with Mario Cástulo Paradelo as its first Governor.
In the 1982Falklands War,thecity airportwas base ofArgentine Air ForceMirage IIIinterceptors andA-4 Skyhawksstrike aircraft.
Néstor Kirchner,President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007, was mayor of Río Gallegos between 1987 and 1991. His mausoleum is in the city and a street bears his name.
Today, Río Gallegos is an important city of the Argentine far south, with military bases and aninternational airport.Flights between Chile andMount Pleasant Airporton the Falkland Islands stop at Río Gallegos once a month.
Wildlife
editBirds in the area include thethrush,rhea,chingolo(rufous-collared sparrow),Chilean flamingo,upland gooseandblack-necked swan.Grey foxesare predators on the sheep ranched in the city. Other animals found in the area include theguanaco.
On the outskirts of Rio Gallegos there is a wide variety of native plants, includingcalafates,anartrofilos,oxalis,violetsandpansies,paper flowers,calceolarias,hipoqueris,leucerias,perezias,senecios,mata arrears, senecio miser,amancay,lilies,lily of the field.
Sport
editRio Gallegos' main association football club isBoca Rio Gallegosof theTorneo Argentino B,the fourth tier of Argentine football. Founded 12 October 1945 by meat factory workers, the side share their crest and kit withBoca Juniorsof Buenos Aires, Argentina's most successful club, and have played in the national league system since 1988.[1] Rio Gallegos' oldestassociation footballclub areBoxing Clubfounded August 1920 and Hispano Americano founded 17 December 1925.
Climate
edit
Rio Gallegos has acold steppe climate(BSk,under theKöppen climate classification).[2]The climate is dry, windy and cold, with occasional snow during the winter.[3]It is one of the windiest cities on earth, with winds above 50 km/h (31 mph) being commonplace, and over 100 km/h (62 mph) not exceptional. Winter temperatures average 5 °C (41 °F) during the day and −2 °C (28 °F) at night, but have dropped as low as −20 °C (−4 °F). Summers are extremely windy and cloudy, with days reaching a cool 19 °C (66 °F) and nights dropping to a relatively cold 7 °C (45 °F).[4]Cold weather can occur at any time, and despite the very low precipitation, light drizzle and cloudy days are quite common. The highest temperature recorded was 35.8 °C (96 °F) on February 5, 2019 while the record low is −20.2 °C (−4 °F) on July 12, 1982.[5][6]
| Climate data for Río Gallegos, Santa Cruz, Argentina (1991–2020, extremes 1931–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 35.0 (95.0) |
35.8 (96.4) |
33.8 (92.8) |
28.2 (82.8) |
22.6 (72.7) |
17.0 (62.6) |
16.1 (61.0) |
18.1 (64.6) |
24.9 (76.8) |
27.2 (81.0) |
30.4 (86.7) |
31.0 (87.8) |
35.8 (96.4) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 20.0 (68.0) |
19.5 (67.1) |
17.1 (62.8) |
13.4 (56.1) |
8.8 (47.8) |
5.2 (41.4) |
5.1 (41.2) |
7.5 (45.5) |
11.3 (52.3) |
14.8 (58.6) |
17.1 (62.8) |
18.6 (65.5) |
13.2 (55.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 13.6 (56.5) |
13.0 (55.4) |
10.8 (51.4) |
7.6 (45.7) |
4.4 (39.9) |
1.6 (34.9) |
1.5 (34.7) |
3.1 (37.6) |
5.6 (42.1) |
8.3 (46.9) |
10.9 (51.6) |
12.6 (54.7) |
7.8 (46.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 7.4 (45.3) |
6.9 (44.4) |
5.4 (41.7) |
2.7 (36.9) |
0.2 (32.4) |
−2.1 (28.2) |
−2.3 (27.9) |
−0.8 (30.6) |
0.8 (33.4) |
2.3 (36.1) |
4.5 (40.1) |
6.5 (43.7) |
2.6 (36.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −0.9 (30.4) |
−3.5 (25.7) |
−7.8 (18.0) |
−11.0 (12.2) |
−16.2 (2.8) |
−18.2 (−0.8) |
−20.2 (−4.4) |
−12.7 (9.1) |
−9.0 (15.8) |
−6.8 (19.8) |
−6.4 (20.5) |
−3.6 (25.5) |
−20.2 (−4.4) |
| Averageprecipitationmm (inches) | 26.9 (1.06) |
29.5 (1.16) |
28.6 (1.13) |
24.6 (0.97) |
24.3 (0.96) |
20.9 (0.82) |
19.8 (0.78) |
18.7 (0.74) |
14.6 (0.57) |
14.5 (0.57) |
22.0 (0.87) |
32.2 (1.27) |
276.6 (10.89) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.1 mm) | 9.7 | 7.9 | 9.9 | 8.4 | 7.9 | 7.6 | 8.2 | 7.3 | 6.3 | 5.6 | 7.8 | 10.4 | 97.0 |
| Average snowy days | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 2.9 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 14.6 |
| Averagerelative humidity(%) | 51.9 | 56.3 | 62.4 | 68.6 | 75.1 | 79.0 | 77.7 | 73.4 | 66.1 | 56.9 | 52.6 | 52.5 | 64.4 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 241.8 | 200.6 | 182.9 | 147.0 | 117.8 | 93.0 | 108.5 | 139.5 | 162.0 | 210.8 | 231.0 | 232.5 | 2,067.4 |
| Mean dailysunshine hours | 7.8 | 7.1 | 5.9 | 4.9 | 3.8 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 5.4 | 6.8 | 7.7 | 7.5 | 5.7 |
| Percentpossible sunshine | 27 | 31 | 34 | 33 | 37 | 35 | 33 | 34 | 36 | 35 | 28 | 23 | 32 |
| Source 1:Servicio Meteorológico Nacional(May record low)[5][7][8][9][10] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Secretaria de Mineria (December record low only and percent sun, 1951–1980),[4]Meteo Climat (record highs and lows),[6] | |||||||||||||
Gallery
edit
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
See also
edit
References
edit- ^"Cấp tốc khoái 3 quan võng _ thủ hiệt".www.bocariogallegos.com.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-03-21.Retrieved2012-10-13.
- ^"Climate: Río Gallegos - Climate graph, Temperature graph, Climate table".Climate-Data.org.Archivedfrom the original on 22 October 2014.Retrieved12 September2013.
- ^"Datos bioclimáticos de 173 localidades argentinas – Anuales".Atlas Bioclimáticos(in Spanish). Universidad Nacional de La Plata.Archivedfrom the original on May 16, 2013.RetrievedApril 10,2014.
- ^ab "Provincia de Santa Cruz – Clima Y Meteorologia: Datos Meteorologicos Y Pluviometicos"(in Spanish). Secretaria de Mineria de la Nacion (Argentina). Archived fromthe originalon January 19, 2015.RetrievedApril 7,2013.
- ^ab "Fin de febrero: lo destacado del mes"(in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. Archived fromthe originalon 4 March 2019.Retrieved3 March2019.
- ^ab"Station Rio Gallegos"(in French). Meteo Climat.Archivedfrom the original on October 8, 2020.RetrievedJune 11,2015.
- ^"Estadísticas Climatológicas Normales - período 1991-2020"(in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional.Retrieved9 April2023.
- ^"Estadísticas Climatológicas Normales – período 1991–2020"(PDF)(in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. 2023. Archived fromthe originalon 8 July 2023.Retrieved8 July2023.
- ^"Estadística climatológica de la República Argentina Período 1991-2000"(in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. Archived fromthe originalon 9 May 2023.Retrieved20 May2023.
- ^ "Anales Climatológicos - Año 1933-37 (p. 183)"(PDF).-16.2 °C (3 °F) el 21 de mayo de 1936(in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional, Ministerio de Asuntos Técnicos (under NOAA Library).RetrievedApril 27,2021.
- Municipality of Río Gallegos– Official website.
- Rio Gallegos Online Information– Online Information in Spanish.
- Municipal information:Municipal Affairs Federal Institute (IFAM), Municipal Affairs Secretariat, Ministry of Interior, Argentina.(in Spanish)
- Argentum21 – Rio Gallegos
- Video Footage of the City– YouTube
- Video Footage of the City 2– YouTube
- Noticias Online– Diario La Opinión Santa Cruz