Colonia Department

- 34.178888888889 - 57.691944444444Koordinaten: 34 ° 11 ' S, 57 ° 42 ' W

Colonia is a department in the south of Uruguay.

  • 3.1 Education
  • 3.2 Culture
  • 3.3 traffic
  • 5.1 Demographics
  • 5.2 Important cities and towns

Geography

Location and landscape

The expansion of an area of 6106 km ² comprising the department is located opposite the confluence of the Río Paraná and Río Uruguay to the Río de la Plata. Its capital city Colonia del Sacramento, which lies in this estuary opposite the Argentine capital Buenos Aires, has 21,714 inhabitants. It is bordered to the north by Soriano, to the west of Flores, in the East to San Jose, and in the south and west by the Argentine province of Buenos Aires.

The area belongs to the so-called La Plata levels and is therefore part of the Pampa. However, it is compared to the west of the Río de la Plata located lowland hilly, thereby pierce the Sierra del Mal Abrigo and especially the Cuchilla de San Salvador as the most prominent hills out. The main rivers are the Río Rosario, the San Juan River as well as the following: Arroyo de las Vacas Arroyo de las Víboras, Cufré Arroyo and Arroyo Miguelete.

Climate

The climate is temperate and humid with a mean annual temperature of 17-18 ° C and rainfall of about 1,000 mm.

Flora and Fauna

The vegetation is typical of the Pampas with a wide variety of grasses and trees of medium height. The wildlife is limited today in addition to the grazing animals on rodents, birds and fish and other aquatic species in the Río de la Plata, among them stands the La Plata dolphin out.

Mineral resources

On the Departamentogebiet located in the northeastern tip area and in the area around Rosario deposits of black granite. Other mineral resources are stored in the Mina Narancio on Arroyo Miguelete where talc, quartz, feldspar and beryl are found.

History

The name of the department is derived from its capital city of Colonia del Sacramento.

Colonia del Sacramento was founded in 1680 in the midst of the conflict over the Banda Oriental by Portuguese troops. Until well into the 19th centuries, the area was the scene of the conflict with Spain, which it conquered several times, until 1825, the new state Uruguay became independent. As a result, one finds in the cities and towns in both Portuguese and Spanish colonial architecture, and the map of Colonia del Sacramento differs in many places from the traditional Spanish- Latin American checkerboard, the streets are directed so as in the Portuguese city model often according to the geographical conditions.

Economy and infrastructure

The basis of the economy agriculture and animal husbandry. The department is mainly known for its dairy products, and Beekeeping ( eg Nueva Helvecia ). Crops are inter alia Corn, sunflower, hops, flax seeds, olives, fruit and grapes. Likewise there is little activity in the mining (rock fractions).

In the cities of Juan Lacaze, Colonia del Sacramento, Nueva Palmira y Carmelo there are small ports. In the industrial paper production, shipbuilding, and the manufacture of synthetic materials are mentioned, but there are agribusiness ( eg mills ).

Education

Colonia has a total of 14 secondary schools ( Liceos ), in which 8,588 students are taught by 839 teachers. (As of December 2008)

Culture

Colonia belongs next to Montevideo and Canelones to the departments that were most influenced by the Swiss and Italian culture. As a port city of Colonia del Sacramento took in the 19th century immigrants from Europe who came next to Switzerland and Italy, especially from Poland, Spain, France and Germany. Because of this past, the Swiss cheese specialties and pasta in the local cuisine are especially known.

Traffic

The Department of Colonia is connected by several national roads with the rest of the country. Also important is the ferry Colonia - Buenos Aires and another boat connection Carmelo - Tigre. The airfield of Colonia is used only by private airplanes. In the past, there were two railway lines from Colonia to Montevideo and Mercedes, which closed down in the 1980s and 1990s. However, there are projects that they reopen.

For years there with Argentina negotiations to build a bridge over the Río de la Plata, with several variants were talking. The because of the long river crossing most expensive, but also the shortest version would run about La Plata, while a variant would be far easier to implement on the delta of the Paraná River; there, however, a largely intact nature area is affected.

Policy

Like the other departments of Uruguay is led by an elected Intendente also Colonia. This has the authority to determine the authority of localities. Current Intendente is of the Partido Nacional belonging to Walter rooms.

Population

Like the rest of the country also Colonia pointed at the last census on a low population growth.

The demographic data in 2004 were the following:

  • Population growth rate: 0.448 % (2004)
  • Birth rate: 15.05 Geburten/1.000 inhabitants ( 2004)
  • Death rate: 9.97 Todesfälle/1.000 inhabitants
  • Median age: 33.5 ( 32.5 men 34.6 women. )
  • Life expectancy (2004): Total: 76.54 years
  • Men: 72.68 years
  • Women: 80.61 years

Demographics

During 2004 119.266 inhabitants were counted, was found in the context of the census of 2011, population 123 203. Of these, 60 203 were men and 63,000 women.

Important cities and towns

Besides the capital Colonia del Sacramento Carmelo ( shipbuilding), Nueva Helvecia are the cities of Juan Lacaze ( harbor city), also known as Colonia Suiza, Rosario, Nueva Palmira and Colonia Valdense the main towns and villages.

Villages with more than 1,000 inhabitants (2004):

National Party (Uruguay) Soriano Department Flores Department Buenos Aires Province Rosario (Uruguay) Portugal Humulus Salmo Canelones Department Mercedes (Uruguay) Carmelo (Uruguay) Tarariras Cerro Largo Department Durazno Department Florida Department Lavalleja Department Maldonado Department Montevideo Department Rivera Department Rocha Department Salto Department Treinta y Tres Department
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