Chubut Province
Chubut
| |
---|---|
Province of Chubut | |
UTC−3 (ART) | |
ISO 3166 code | AR-U |
HDI (2021) | 0.858 very high (3rd)[3] |
Website | www |
Chubut (
The largest city is
History
Before the Spaniards arrived in the Americas, nomadic indigenous Tehuelche people had inhabited the Patagonia region for thousands of years.[5] They lived as hunter-gatherers and covered territory in seasonal cycles as they followed game.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, Spanish
In 1865,
As part of the
From 1895 to 1915 hundreds of Spanish and Italian born immigrantes settled in the lower Chubut valley as well a little more than hundred Chileans.[7]: 172
In 1944, the southern part of Chubut and northern part of Santa Cruz were designated the Comodoro Rivadavia Military Zone. The zone was dissolved in 1955, and Chubut was declared a province. Studies in the 1950s revealed mineral wealth in the province, which the government has tried to develop.
Population shifts of the late 20th century, especially from Buenos Aires, raised the population steadily from 190,000 (1970), to 357,000 (1991) and 413,237 (2001). The government has encouraged people to resettle here. Most of the inhabitants are in the main cities. They have also settled along the Chubut River. Most areas have a population density of less than 1 inhabitant per square kilometer.
Economy
Chubut's economy, for a long time one of the most prosperous in Argentina, is one of the country's least diversified. Nearly one-quarter of its 2006 output, estimated at US$4.652 billion (or a per capita income of US$11,256), is generated by mining and petroleum.
Sheep ranching, though less than half as productive in the 21st century compared to as recently as 1990, remains important at the local level. The advent of synthetic replacements to wool after World War II battered the sector. It declined further because of Argentina's political instability and damage from natural disasters. Wool production has risen since 2002, however, and totaled 71,000 tons in 2006.[10]
Geography
Relief
Chubut stretches from the Atlantic to the Andes with 3 distinct environmental regions: The Andes, the central plains and the coastal regions.
Climate
The Andes cause humid winds from the Pacific Ocean to rise so most of the moisture precipitates on the western side of the Andes, leaving all except the Andean portion of the province dry.
Temperature
The western parts of the province are the coldest with an annual mean temperature of 8 °C (46.4 °F) owing to the higher elevations while the coastal areas are the warmest with an annual mean temperature of 12 to 14 °C (53.6 to 57.2 °F).
Humidity and precipitation
In general, relative humidity values do not vary a lot across the province and the contrast is not that large.[12] In the coastal areas, the mean relative humidity is about 70% while in the rest of the province, it is around 50%–60%.[12] The exception is in the higher altitude areas in the Andes in the colder regions where humidity levels are considerably higher.[12] During the summer months, humidity levels are relatively low.[12]
Because the Andes block most of the moisture from the Pacific Ocean from coming in, causing it to release most of the precipitation on its western slopes, most of the province is dry, averaging less than 200 mm (7.9 in) a year.[12] In the central parts of the province, some areas receive less than 100 mm (3.9 in) of precipitation a year.[12] In the Andean part, precipitation increases towards the Chilean border and precipitation ranges from 700 mm (28 in) to over 3,000 mm (120 in).[11][12] A Mediterranean like precipitation pattern, similar to central Chile with dry summers and wet winters is found in the area between the Andean region to the west and the dry steppes to the east.[12] Although precipitation can widely vary among the province, in all locations, precipitation is higher during the winter months.[12] Thunderstorms are rare and occur exclusively during the summer.[12]
Wind and sunshine
One defining characteristic of the climate in Chubut province is the strong wind that is observed throughout the province.[12] The wind is an additional factor that makes most of the province dry since it favors evaporation of moisture.[12] Most of the wind comes from either the west, southwest or northwest but in coastal areas during the summer months, a sea breeze can form when westerly winds are weak, forming easterly winds that can penetrate up to 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the coast.[12] The mean wind speed is 6 metres per second (20 ft/s) with higher wind speeds being recorded in the south where the average is more than 9 metres per second (30 ft/s).[12] Higher altitude areas are more windy than lower altitude areas, resulting in the Andean region being windier than the coastal areas.[12] As in much of Patagonia, summers tend to be windier than winters.[12]
Sunshine in the province follows a north–south gradient (decreases from north to south), particularly during summer where northern parts of the province can receive 10 hours of sunshine/day while southern parts receive 8 hours of sunshine/day.[12] During winter months, the province receives 4–5 hours of sunshine/day.[12]
Media
Newspapers
Print newspapers include:
- Crónica and El Patagónico in Comodoro Rivadavia
- El Oeste in Esquel
- El Diario de Madryn in Puerto Madryn
- El Chubut and Jornada in Trelew
- Y Drafod, Welsh language newspaper since 1891
Online journalism
Online journalism has a small, growing presence in Chubut. The six print newspapers have online editions; these are updated every 24 hours. Some new digital proposals make a better use of web's potential. One case is Infochubut.com, a recent publication that works with audio, video, text and photographs for its news and offers forums for public participation. Some radio stations in northwest Chubut began to publish online some of the interviews made in their radio studies.
Radio
The most populous cities are served by AM radio stations, such as Chubut Radio and Three Radio in Trelew, Golfo Nuevo's Radio in Puerto Madryn, National Radio in Comodoro, Rivadavia and Esquel. There are also several FM radio stations which broadcast programs from a national central office.
Television
The provincial government runs a TV network that covers the province. In Trelew, Comodoro Rivadavia, Esquel, Puerto Madryn and in some small towns there are other local TV stations producing local programming to supplement the programming received from the Buenos Aires networks.
Tourism
Tourism is also a growing industry. The main attractions are
Further south, on the sparsely populated beaches of the
Transport
The
Major highways include:
- Route 2, from Puerto Pirámides and Península Valdés
- Route 3, north–south via Trelew and Comodoro Rivadavia
- Route 26, west from Comodoro Rivadavia (223 km)
- Route 20, which continues north 178 km to Jose de San Martín
- Route 22, north from Perito Moreno (Santa Cruz province) 125 km
- Route 25, west from Trelew (341 km)
- Route 62, which continues west 166 km to join Route 40 at Tecka
- Route 40, traveling north 266 km via Esquel to Cabeza del Indio
- Route 30, east 73 km from Route 3 to the coast at Camarones
- Route 259, west from Esquel to Chile.
Four other roads travel west to Chile's Aysén region, including Balmaceda and Coihaique Alto, and two to Chile's Los Lagos region from Corcovado to Palena and from Esquel via Trevelin to Futaleufu.
Government
The provincial government is divided into the usual three branches: the executive, headed by a popularly elected governor, who appoint the cabinet; the legislative; and the judiciary, headed by the Supreme Court and completed by several inferior tribunals.
The Constitution of Chubut Province forms the formal law of the province.
In Argentina, the most important law enforcement organization is the Argentine Federal Police but the additional work is carried out by the Chubut Provincial Police.
Political divisions
The province is divided into 15 departments (Spanish: departamentos), listed below with their Number (on map), area and populations at the Censuses of November 2000 and October 2010:
Name | No. on Map | Capital | Area (km2) | Census 2000 | Census 2010 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Biedma | 15 | Puerto Madryn | 12,940 | 58,677 | 82,883 |
Cushamen | 1 | Cushamen | 16,250 | 17,134 | 20,919 |
Escalante | 2 | Comodoro Rivadavia | 14,015 | 143,689 | 186,583 |
Florentino Ameghino | 3 | Camarones | 16,088 | 1,484 | 1,627 |
Futaleufú | 4 | Esquel |
9,435 | 37,540 | 43,076 |
Gaiman | 5 | Gaiman | 11,076 | 9,612 | 11,141 |
Gastre | 6 | Gastre | 16,335 | 1,508 | 1,427 |
Languiñeo | 7 | Tecka | 15,339 | 3,017 | 3,085 |
Mártires | 8 | Las Plumas | 15,445 | 977 | 778 |
Paso de Indios | 9 | Paso de Indios | 22,300 | 1,905 | 1,867 |
Rawson | 10 | Rawson | 3,922 | 115,829 | 131,313 |
Río Senguer | 11 | Alto Río Senguer | 22,335 | 6,194 | 5,979 |
Sarmiento | 12 | Sarmiento | 14,563 | 8,724 | 11,396 |
Tehuelches | 13 | José de San Martín | 14,750 | 5,159 | 5,390 |
Telsen | 14 | Telsen | 19,893 | 1,788 | 1,644 |
Chubut Totals | Rawson | 224,686 | 413,237 | 509,108 |
Institutions
Chubut is covered by the
The university,
The Estación de Fotobiología Playa Unión is based in the town of Playa Unión.
Localities
References
- ^ "Nuevos datos provisorios del Censo 2022: Argentina tiene 46.044.703 habitantes". Infobae. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
- ^ "TelluBase—Argentina Fact Sheet (Tellusant Public Service Series)" (PDF). Tellusant. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
- ^ "El mapa del desarrollo humano en Argentina" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 25 June 2023.
- ^ "Languages of Argentina" - Ethnologue.com (subscription required)
- ^ "Tehuelche". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. 2018.
- ISBN 1851094318.
- ISBN 978-0-7083-0579-9.
- ^ "El déficit consolidado de las provincias rondará los $11.500 millones este año" (in Spanish). Instituto Argentino para el Desarrollo de las Economías Regionales. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
- ^ "YPF confirmó la presencia de hidrocarburos no convencionales en Chubut". Archived from the original on 2014-05-26. Retrieved 2014-05-27.
- ^ MECON Republica Argentina (2008) Archived October 19, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Annuario Estadístico Chubut" (PDF) (in Spanish). Dirección General de Estadística y Censos Chubut. 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah "Provincia de Chubut–Clima Y Metéorologia" (in Spanish). Secretaria de Mineria de la Nacion (Argentina). Archived from the original on April 17, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
- ^ Ocean Circulation and Climate 2013, p. 316.
- ^ C. Michael Hogan (2008) Magellanic Penguin, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
Further reading
- Ocean Circulation and Climate: A 21st Century Perspective. Academic Press. 2013. p. 316. ISBN 9780123918536. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
External links
- Media related to Chubut Province at Wikimedia Commons
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 322.
- Chubut Province in Argentour