Rawson, Chubut

Rawson
City

Flag

Coat of arms
Rawson

Location of Rawson in Argentina

Coordinates: 43°18′S 65°6′W / 43.300°S 65.100°W / -43.300; -65.100Coordinates: 43°18′S 65°6′W / 43.300°S 65.100°W / -43.300; -65.100
Country Argentina
Province Chubut
Department Rawson
Government
  Mayor Rossana Artero
Elevation 4 m (13 ft)
Population (2012)
  Total 26,306
Demonym(s) Rawsense
Time zone ART (UTC−3)
CPA base U9103
+54 0280
Climate BWk
Website Official website

Rawson (originally "Trerawson" from Welsh) is the capital of the Argentine province of Chubut, in Patagonia. It has about 26,000 inhabitants, and it is the chief town of the Rawson Department, which has 122,000 inhabitants (figures as per the 2001 census [INDEC]). Even though it is the provincial capital, its population is smaller than that of other cities in Chubut: Comodoro Rivadavia, Trelew, Puerto Madryn and Esquel. Rawson became the provincial capital in 1957, when Chubut was constituted as a province.

Rawson is located on National Route 3, about 1,360 km south of Buenos Aires, some 20 km from Trelew, and it is served by the Almirante Marco Andrés Zar Airport in Trelew. It is crossed by the Chubut River, over which the first bridge was built in 1889.

Fishing trawlers at port, Rawson.

The city has a fishing port, Puerto Rawson, on the Atlantic coast, 5 km down the river.

History

First wooden bridge over the Chubut River

Rawson was the first town founded by Welsh emigrants who sailed on the clipper "Mimosa" in 1865.[1]

These settlers called the fort "Caer Antur" ("Adventure Fort") or "Yr Hen Amddiffinfa" ("The Old Fortress"). One of the settlers from the Mimosa, Abraham Matthews, described the constructions as follows: "The place that we denominated Yr Hen Amddiffinfa was a portion of land surrounded by a pit measuring sixty to one hundred yards in diameter. (….) These men had excavated the pit and thrown the soil in, so that when raised to the tide the pit is filled of water, and thus more insurances felt, because according to it was said, the Indians of the Patagonia never crossed the water to attack".

Despite numerous studies, the location of the fort in relation to the modern city does not exist today. The river has changed course since then, and no remains of the fort can be found today.

Map of the town

Twinned towns

Climate

Homeowner and his Merino sheep.

Rawson experiences a cold desert climate (Köppen BWk) with hot summers, cool winters and low precipitation year round.

Climate data for Trelew/Rawson
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 41.3
(106.3)
40.4
(104.7)
39.5
(103.1)
35.3
(95.5)
29.5
(85.1)
27.7
(81.9)
24.8
(76.6)
27.4
(81.3)
31.3
(88.3)
36.4
(97.5)
38.3
(100.9)
41.2
(106.2)
41.3
(106.3)
Average high °C (°F) 29.3
(84.7)
28.5
(83.3)
24.6
(76.3)
20.3
(68.5)
15.7
(60.3)
12.1
(53.8)
12.3
(54.1)
14.6
(58.3)
17.6
(63.7)
20.9
(69.6)
25.7
(78.3)
27.9
(82.2)
20.8
(69.4)
Daily mean °C (°F) 21.7
(71.1)
20.6
(69.1)
17.1
(62.8)
13.1
(55.6)
9.1
(48.4)
6.3
(43.3)
5.9
(42.6)
7.6
(45.7)
10.1
(50.2)
13.8
(56.8)
18.0
(64.4)
20.3
(68.5)
13.6
(56.5)
Average low °C (°F) 14.4
(57.9)
13.4
(56.1)
10.5
(50.9)
7.1
(44.8)
3.9
(39)
1.5
(34.7)
0.9
(33.6)
1.8
(35.2)
4.1
(39.4)
7.5
(45.5)
10.3
(50.5)
12.7
(54.9)
7.3
(45.1)
Record low °C (°F) 3.0
(37.4)
1.7
(35.1)
−1.4
(29.5)
−4.2
(24.4)
−10.7
(12.7)
−10.8
(12.6)
−10.8
(12.6)
−10.2
(13.6)
−8.0
(17.6)
−4.0
(24.8)
−1.0
(30.2)
1.0
(33.8)
−10.8
(12.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 13.9
(0.547)
11.3
(0.445)
21.4
(0.843)
28.3
(1.114)
21.6
(0.85)
23.4
(0.921)
20.9
(0.823)
13.5
(0.531)
12.5
(0.492)
20.9
(0.823)
10.1
(0.398)
12.3
(0.484)
210.1
(8.272)
Average precipitation days 4 4 6 6 7 9 7 7 7 7 4 5 73
Average relative humidity (%) 38.2 43.2 49.4 53.2 61.6 66.8 64.8 56.4 50.8 44.2 41.0 39.2 50.7
Mean monthly sunshine hours 310.0 271.2 260.4 198.0 155.0 135.0 136.4 173.6 195.0 244.9 285.0 294.5 2,649.7
Percent possible sunshine 67.0 69.3 65.3 60.3 51.3 50.0 47.3 53.7 55.0 59.7 65.0 55.3 58.3
Source #1: Servicio Meteorologico Nacional,[3]
Source #2: Secretaria de Mineria (extremes, humidity and sun 1941–1990)[4]

References

  1. "The Mimosa". Clwyd Family History Society. 24 March 2013. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  2. http://www.cambrian-news.co.uk/news/i/48456/ | Patagonian dignitaries to visit for twinning.
  3. "Statistical Data (1981-1990)" (in Spanish). National Meteorological Service of Argentina. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  4. "Provincia de Chubut - Clima Y Meteorologia: Datos Meteorologicos Y Pluviometicos" (in Spanish). Secretaria de Mineria de la Nacion (Argentina). Archived from the original on January 19, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2014.

External links

Rawson Civic Centre, the provincial parliament.
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