Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...
Ushuaia
Ushuaia ( , ) is the capital of Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur Province, Argentina. With a population of nearly 75,000 and a location below the 54th parallel south latitude, Ushuaia claims the title of world's souther ...
, the capital of the province.
It is served by
Hermes Quijada International Airport
Hermes Quijada International Airport ( es, Aeropuerto International de Río Grande - Hermes Quijada) is an airport in Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina serving the city of Río Grande.
It has a terminal, a cargo terminal, and of hangars ...
.
History
Sheep farming, as many other places in
Patagonia
Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...
, was the main impetus for population settlements beginning in the late 19th century.
Abundant rivers, the seacoast, and good
pasture
Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or sw ...
s were some of the reasons that fueled population growth. Río Grande was founded on July 11, 1921, when the central government issued a decree recognising this locality as the "Agricultural Colony of Río Grande".
In the beginning, the land was subdivided among a few families, owning large estates until the
agrarian reform Agrarian reform can refer either, narrowly, to government-initiated or government-backed redistribution of agricultural land (see land reform) or, broadly, to an overall redirection of the agrarian system of the country, which often includes land ...
of 1925. Cattle raising became one of the most important economic activities in the area.
In 2014, the city came into international scrutiny after a mob of some 300 vehicles blocked the escape of the support staff for the BBC Television program ''
Top Gear
Top Gear may refer to:
* "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission
Television
* ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme
* ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...
'' after they had already been attacked with eggs and stones in Tolhuin, on a protest that started after their car plate resembled the Falkland Islands dispute. Arriving at the river border crossing, the crew had to illegally cross the border with Chile, after the crew was temporarily expelled from the province, which their crossing was successful.
Economy
In order to promote industrial development, Tierra del Fuego is excluded from VAT and federal income tax. As a result, several manufacturing companies, particularly those involving electronic products, have opened factories in this city.
The city's population has grown rapidly since 1980. Many people have relocated from the northern parts of Argentina and from other countries, such as Bolivia, to work in factories that offer higher wages than other provinces of Argentina and also as a result of the television set production and assembly plants opened notably by
ITT
ITT may refer to:
Communication
* Infantry-Tank Telephone, a device allowing infantrymen to speak to the occupants of armoured vehicles.
Mathematics
*Intuitionistic type theory, other name of Martin-Löf Type Theory
*Intensional type theory
B ...
.
One of the most rapidly growing sectors is the production of
laptop
A laptop, laptop computer, or notebook computer is a small, portable personal computer (PC) with a screen and alphanumeric keyboard. Laptops typically have a clam shell form factor with the screen mounted on the inside of the upper li ...
s and
netbook
Netbook was a commonly used term that identified a product class of small and inexpensive laptops which were sold from 2007 to around 2013. These machines were designed primarily as cost-effective tools for consumers to access the Inte ...
s. These products were totally imported until 2006 but by 2010, and due to initiatives under the Kirchner administrations, 42% of the Argentine market for these goods was supplied by firms established in Río Grande and Vicente López.
In April
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...
, portfolio investments announced that they were planning to produce over 6.9 million units made in Tierra del Fuego Province, principally in Río Grande, which means more than a half of the sold netbooks in the country.
Climate
Rio Grande's climate is strongly influenced by the ocean: generally quite cool, and sometimes very windy. It has a
subantarctic climate
The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...
( Köppen ''Dfc''; very rare for the Southern Hemisphere) or a
subpolar oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...
( Köppen ''Cfc'') depending on the isotherm used, with cool temperatures year round.
It also closely borders on a
cold semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi ...
tundra climate
The tundra climate is a polar climate sub-type located in high latitudes and high mountains. undra climate https://www.britannica.com/science/tundra-climateThe Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2019 It is classified as ET according to Köppen ...
( Köppen ''ET''). Temperatures in the warmest months, January and February average while temperatures in the coolest month average . With a mean temperature of in the coldest month, Río Grande has the coldest mean monthly temperature amongst cities in Argentina. Precipitation is low at around . Also, due to its latitude, the length of the day varies tremendously across the year. Winter days can have as few as seven hours of sunlight, while summer days stretch to seventeen hours.
Frost occurs throughout the year, and winter temperatures can remain below freezing for relatively long periods of time. As such, the frost free period is very short with the first date of frost being February 23 and the last date of frost being November 22. During the summer, conditions are generally very windy and cloudy, and nights remain cold. Freak snowfalls can occur even in midsummer. The highest recorded temperature was on February 4, 2019. It is believed that this is the southernmost recorded instance where temperatures exceed . The lowest recorded temperature was on July 19, 1984.
Gallery
Image:Costa mar argentino atardecer.jpg, Río Grande at sunset
Image:ARA MB326 Rio Grande Tierra del Fuego.jpg, Argentine Navy MB326 monument
image:Rio_Grande-San_martin_av.jpg, San Martín Avenue
See also
*
Ushuaia
Ushuaia ( , ) is the capital of Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur Province, Argentina. With a population of nearly 75,000 and a location below the 54th parallel south latitude, Ushuaia claims the title of world's souther ...