Trelew

For other uses, see Trelew (disambiguation).
Trelew
City

Trelew city centre

Coat of arms
Trelew

Location of Trelew in Argentina

Coordinates: 43°15′S 65°18′W / 43.250°S 65.300°W / -43.250; -65.300Coordinates: 43°15′S 65°18′W / 43.250°S 65.300°W / -43.250; -65.300
Country Argentina
Province Chubut
Department Rawson
Founded October 20, 1886
Founded by Lewis Jones
Government
 • Mayor Maximo Perez Catan
Area
 • Total 249 km2 (96 sq mi)
Elevation 11 m (36 ft)
Population (2012)
 • Total 98,602
 • Density 400/km2 (1,000/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Trelewense
Time zone ART (UTC-3)
CPA base U9100
Dialing code +54 280
Climate BWk

Trelew (Spanish pronunciation: [treˈleu],[1] from Welsh: tre "town" and the name of the founder) is a city in the Chubut Province of Argentina. Located in Patagonia, the city is the largest and most populous in the low valley of the Chubut River, with an estimated 100,000 inhabitants as of 2010. The Trelew municipality is part of the Rawson Department, whose capital, Rawson, is also the provincial capital.

Trelew is an important commercial and industrial centre for the region and is the main hub for wool processing, accounting for 90 percent of activity in Argentina. The produce of this industry is mainly shipped and exported through Puerto Madryn and Puerto Deseado.

Trelew is home to the Museum of Paleontology Egidio Feruglio, showcasing the paleontological heritage of the Patagonic region, and considered one of the most important of its kind in South America and the Astronomic and Planetary Observatory.

The city is served by the Almirante Marcos A. Zar Airport, of both civilian and military use. The airport's runway is shared with the Almirante Zar Naval Base, home of the Lockheed P-3 Orion squadron of the Argentine Naval Aviation.

The city was founded in 1886 by Welsh settlers, hence its name of Welsh origin, a feature shared with many other cities and towns in the area.

History

A train of ox-drawn carts leaving Trelew,c.1880

Trelew's foundation is linked with Welsh settlement in Argentina, the leaders of which were Captain Sir Love Jones-Parry of Madryn and Lewis (Luis) Jones, who acted as spokesmen to deal with the Argentine government in the beginning of the 1860s. The town was named Trelew in honour of Jones, tre meaning "town" in Welsh and Lew being an apocope for Lewis.[2]

Trelew was established on 20 October 1886 as the starting point for the Central Chubut Railway line that would link the lower Chubut River Valley to Puerto Madryn. Railway building equipment and 400 settlers arrived on July 28 of that same year on the steamer Vesta. The line was opened in 1888 and later extended from Trelew to Gaiman, Dolavon and finally to Las Plumas. In 1961, the line was closed.

1972 massacre

Former Airport of Trelew, now a "cultural centre for the memory".
Main article: Trelew massacre

Trelew was the scene of a massacre in 1972. A breakout of political prisoners at the federal penitentiary resulted in the death of one guard and the attempted flight of about 100 individuals who opposed the military dictatorship which followed the overthrow of President Arturo Illia. A small group of prisoners succeeded in commandeering a plane and flying to safety in Chile. The rest submitted to the authorities and were returned to a military prison, where 19 were shot (three survived).

The town of Trelew was searched by the military and locals were seized and taken to the Villa Devoto Prison in Buenos Aires. Virtually the entire town went on strike and succeeded in securing the release of the prisoners at Villa Devoto. These incidents were documented in the book La Pasión según Trelew, by Tomás Eloy Martínez, which was originally published in 1973, but was then suppressed by the dictatorship of the Proceso, and reissued in 1997.[3]

Tourism

Welsh People's Museum, Trelew
National Bank at night

Trelew is the centre of the touristic travels to the Central Meseta, the Valley of the Chubut River and the coast. Punta Tombo, the biggest penguin reserve in South America, is accessible from the city.

Sports

Racing de Trelew and Huracán de Trelew are the most important local football clubs. Patoruzú Rugby Club and Trelew Rugby Club are the local clubs practising this sport.

Climate

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

Climate data for Trelew/Rawson (extremes 1901–present)
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)		 40.0
(104)		 35.3
(95.5)		 31.0
(87.8)		 27.7
(81.9)		 25.6
(78.1)		 27.4
(81.3)		 33.0
(91.4)		 36.4
(97.5)		 38.3
(100.9)		 41.2
(106.2)		 41.3
(106.3)
Average high °C (°F) 28.5
(83.3)		 27.8
(82)		 24.6
(76.3)		 20.6
(69.1)		 16.0
(60.8)		 12.0
(53.6)		 12.1
(53.8)		 14.6
(58.3)		 17.6
(63.7)		 20.9
(69.6)		 24.7
(76.5)		 27.0
(80.6)		 20.5
(68.9)
Daily mean °C (°F) 20.9
(69.6)		 20.0
(68)		 17.2
(63)		 13.4
(56.1)		 9.5
(49.1)		 6.1
(43)		 6.0
(42.8)		 7.8
(46)		 10.6
(51.1)		 13.7
(56.7)		 17.2
(63)		 19.5
(67.1)		 13.5
(56.3)
Average low °C (°F) 14.1
(57.4)		 13.2
(55.8)		 10.8
(51.4)		 7.4
(45.3)		 4.2
(39.6)		 1.3
(34.3)		 1.2
(34.2)		 2.3
(36.1)		 4.3
(39.7)		 7.2
(45)		 10.1
(50.2)		 12.5
(54.5)		 7.4
(45.3)
Record low °C (°F) 3.0
(37.4)		 1.5
(34.7)		 −1.6
(29.1)		 −4.2
(24.4)		 −10.7
(12.7)		 −12.3
(9.9)		 −11.4
(11.5)		 −10.6
(12.9)		 −8.0
(17.6)		 −5.0
(23)		 −1.0
(30.2)		 0.5
(32.9)		 −12.3
(9.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 11.9
(0.469)		 16.8
(0.661)		 18.5
(0.728)		 16.7
(0.657)		 19.5
(0.768)		 14.1
(0.555)		 19.0
(0.748)		 13.6
(0.535)		 11.4
(0.449)		 16.6
(0.654)		 14.0
(0.551)		 14.1
(0.555)		 186.2
(7.331)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 4 5 4 4 6 7 6 6 5 5 4 5 61
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: NOAA (normals, 1961–1990),[4] Meteo Climat (record highs and lows)[5] Secretaria de Mineria (humidity, sun, April, August and December record highs, and May record low only, 1941–1990)[6]
Source #2: Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (precipitation days 1961–1990)[7]

International Relations

Trelew is twinned with:

See also

References

  1. ↑ Video presentation of the town on the official website
  2. ↑ "Trelew: a tour of the city". Patagonia.com.ar. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  3. ↑ ""La pasión según Trelew", de Tomás Eloy Martinez". Terra Argentina. 26 March 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  4. ↑ "Trelew Aero Climate Normals 1961-1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Station Trelew" (in French). Meteo Climat. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  6. ↑ "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.
  7. ↑ "Valores Medios de Temperatura y Precipitación-Chubut: Trelew" (in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. Retrieved March 31, 2015.

Sources

External links

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