Melo, Uruguay

"Melo" redirects here. For other uses, see Melo (disambiguation).
Melo
Capital city

The Posta del Chuy, near Melo
Melo
Coordinates: 32°22′0″S 54°11′0″W / 32.36667°S 54.18333°W / -32.36667; -54.18333Coordinates: 32°22′0″S 54°11′0″W / 32.36667°S 54.18333°W / -32.36667; -54.18333
Country  Uruguay
Department Cerro Largo
Founded 1795
Founded by Agustín de la Rosa
Elevation 80 m (260 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Total 51,830
 • Demonym melense
Time zone UTC -3
Postal code 37000
Dial plan +598 64 (+6 digits)
Website Official site of Cerro Largo

Melo is the capital city of the Cerro Largo Department of north-eastern Uruguay. As of the census of 2011, it is the ninth most populated city of the country.

Location

It is located at the center of the department, on the intersection of Route 7 with Route 8, 60 kilometres (37 mi) south of Aceguá and the border with Brazil. Other primary roads to the city are Route 26 and Route 44.

Geography

The stream Arroyo Conventos (a tributary of Tacuarí River) flows by the west limits of the city.

History

It was founded on 27 June 1795 by Agustín de la Rosa, an officer to the Spanish Empire.[1] It was named after Pedro Melo de Portugal, a Spanish colonial official of Portuguese royal ancestry.

Given its proximity to some Portuguese colonies in Brazil, the "Melo Village" (in Spanish, "Villa de Melo"), as it was once named, it was invaded by Portuguese forces in 1801, 1811, and 1816. With Uruguayan independence, Melo was officially declared capital of the department of Cerro Largo.

In 1845, the city square was renamed in honor of Manuel Oribe, a former President of Uruguay and a political leader of the White Party (Partido Blanco), which brought to light the relations of this corner of the country with that National Movement (the vast majority of its inhabitants have belonged to that same political community).

Melo had acquired the status of "Villa" (town) before the Independence of Uruguay. Its status was elevated to "Ciudad" (city) on 22 May 1895 by the Act of Ley Nº 2.3279.[2] It was capital of one of the nine original departments of the Republic.

The historian J.C. Chasteen has discussed the place of Melo in the history of Uruguay in his book "Heroes on Horseback: A Life and Times of the Last Gaucho Caudillos".[3]

Population

The house of Juana de Ibarbourou (also known as "Juana de América") in Melo.

In 2011 Melo had a population of 51,830 inhabitants.[4]

Year Population
1908 12,355
1963 33,741
1975 38,487
1985 42,245
1996 46,883
2004 50,578
2011 51,830

Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística de Uruguay[5]

Climate

Melo has a humid subtropical climate, described by the Köppen climate classification as Cfa. Summers are warm (with hot days and cool nights) and winters are cool, with frequent frosts and fog. The precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year, with an average of 1,241 mm (48.85 in), and the annual average temperature is 17 °C (63 °F).

This city has the lowest recorded temperature in Uruguay, of -11 °C (12.2 °F), on June 14, 1967.[6]

Climate data for Melo, Cerro Largo
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 40.4
(104.7)		 40.0
(104)		 40.4
(104.7)		 35.8
(96.4)		 32.3
(90.1)		 29.6
(85.3)		 30.0
(86)		 31.2
(88.2)		 31.8
(89.2)		 34.2
(93.6)		 38.4
(101.1)		 39.5
(103.1)		 40.4
(104.7)
Average high °C (°F) 30.5
(86.9)		 29.7
(85.5)		 27.3
(81.1)		 23.6
(74.5)		 19.9
(67.8)		 17.2
(63)		 17.1
(62.8)		 18.3
(64.9)		 20.0
(68)		 23.0
(73.4)		 25.9
(78.6)		 28.4
(83.1)		 23.4
(74.1)
Daily mean °C (°F) 23.2
(73.8)		 22.8
(73)		 20.8
(69.4)		 17.2
(63)		 13.9
(57)		 11.1
(52)		 11.5
(52.7)		 12.4
(54.3)		 14.1
(57.4)		 16.9
(62.4)		 18.9
(66)		 21.7
(71.1)		 17.0
(62.6)
Average low °C (°F) 17.0
(62.6)		 16.0
(60.8)		 15.0
(59)		 12.3
(54.1)		 8.0
(46.4)		 5.1
(41.2)		 7.0
(44.6)		 7.7
(45.9)		 9.6
(49.3)		 12.0
(53.6)		 14.6
(58.3)		 14.7
(58.5)		 11.8
(53.2)
Record low °C (°F) 1.0
(33.8)		 3.6
(38.5)		 0.0
(32)		 −5.0
(23)		 −5.9
(21.4)		 −11.0
(12.2)		 −7.8
(18)		 −3.6
(25.5)		 −4.0
(24.8)		 −1.8
(28.8)		 0.8
(33.4)		 4.0
(39.2)		 −11.0
(12.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 105
(4.13)		 114
(4.49)		 96
(3.78)		 79
(3.11)		 99
(3.9)		 95
(3.74)		 129
(5.08)		 112
(4.41)		 121
(4.76)		 102
(4.02)		 102
(4.02)		 83
(3.27)		 1,238
(48.74)
Average precipitation days 5 6 5 5 5 6 6 5 6 6 5 4 64
Average relative humidity (%) 64 68 72 74 76 86 83 80 78 71 75 67 74
Mean monthly sunshine hours 264.1 206.0 236.6 192.1 175.9 140.3 152.2 165.5 172.1 232.1 235.8 288.7 2,461.4
Source: Dirección Nacional de Meteorología.[7]

Features

There are two museums worth a visit:

Near Melo is situated the old Posta del Chuy, a stone inn near an ancient bridge over the Chuy del Tacuarí creek.

The Conventos Stream, which was once used for boat races carried out by the Club Remeros Melo, has become severely polluted over time and was consequently forbidden to public access. Melo is still an old-fashioned city with low buildings.

Melo was visited by the Pope John Paul II in 1988. This formed the background to the 2006 film "El Baño del Papa" ("The Pope's Toilet") about an enterprising citizen with the ill-fated idea of making money by building a toilet and charging the hordes of Brazilians expected to visit Melo to see the Pope.

Places of worship

See also

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ History of Melo - from the book of Camilo Urueña González -"Crónicas de Cerro Largo" 1945 - Official website of Cerro Largo
  2. ↑ "LEY N° 9.888". República Oriental del Uruguay, Poder Legislativo. 1995. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
  3. ↑ John Charles Chasteen, 'Heroes on Horseback: A Life and Times of the Last Gaucho Caudillos', University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 0-8263-1598-4.
  4. ↑ "Censos 2011 Cuadros Cerro Largo". INE. 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  5. ↑ "Statistics of urban localities (1908–2004)" (PDF). INE. 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
  6. ↑ (Spanish) Récords meteorológicos del Uruguay, Dirección Nacional de Meteorología. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
  7. ↑ Estadísticas climatológicas.

External links

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