Rocha () is a department in the east of

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. Its capital is the city of Rocha. It borders

Maldonado Department The Maldonado Department ( es, Departamento de Maldonado; ), with an area of and 164,300 inhabitants (2011), is located to the southeast of Uruguay. Its capital is Maldonado. Geography and climate Neighbouring departments are Rocha to the Eas ...

to its west,

Lavalleja Department Lavalleja () is a department of Uruguay. Its capital is Minas. It is located in the southeast of the country, bordered to the north by the department of Treinta y Tres to the east with Rocha, to the south with Canelones and Maldonado, and to ...

to its northwest,

Treinta y Tres Department Treinta y Tres () is a department of Uruguay. Its capital is Treinta y Tres. It is located in the east of the country, bordering the departments of Cerro Largo to the north, Durazno and Florida to the west, Lavalleja and Rocha to the south, ...

to its north, while to its northeast

Laguna Merín Lagoon Mirim (Portuguese, ) or Merín (Spanish, ) is a large estuarine lagoon which extends from southern Rio Grande do Sul state in Brazil into eastern Uruguay. Lagoa Mirim is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a sandy, partially barren is ...

forms part of its border with

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and at the south end of the lake it also borders the southernmost end of Brazil, with the city of

Chuy Chuy () is a city in the extreme east of Uruguay, in the Rocha Department, northeast of Montevideo. It lies on the border with Brazil, separated from its Brazilian sister town of Chuí only by a shared avenue that serves as the border, and by th ...

"shared" between both countries, the border passing through its main commercial avenue. Rocha has natural beauties like

Cabo Polonio Cabo Polonio is a hamlet located in the eastern coast of Uruguay in the Rocha Department. Cabo Polonio has no roads leading to it and is located about 7 km from the main highway. It is accessible by walking through the dunes or by 4×4 v ...

, Valizas, Santa Teresa National Park. It is well known for its beach resorts, like

Punta del Diablo Punta del Diablo is a village and seaside locality in Uruguay, Rocha Department, east from the capital Montevideo. According to the 2011 census, its permanent population consisted of 823 inhabitants, mostly fishermen and artisans, while during hig ...

or La Esmeralda, which swell with visitors during the summer holidays. Inland, the primary economy of Rocha is based on large cattle ranches.

History

On 7 July 1880, the department of Rocha was formed from territory that had belonged to the department of Maldonado since the first division of the Republic in departments in 1819.

In literature

Rocha department features in Carlos Maria Dominguez's 2004 novel ''Casa de Papel'' (trs English, 2005, ''The House of Paper''). The narrator visits the ruins of a house of books ergo, 'house of paper', which had been built and then destroyed by an obsessive book collector on the sand spit separating Rocha lagoon from the ocean.

Population and Demographics

As of the census of 2011, Rocha Department had a population of 68,088 (33,269 male and 34,819 female) and 46,071 households. Demographic data for Rocha Department in 2010: *Population growth rate: -0.082% *Birth Rate: 14.04 births/1,000 people *Death Rate: 10.44 deaths/1,000 people *Average age: 35.0 (34.0 male, 36.0 female) *Life Expectancy at Birth: **Total population: 75.82 years **Male: 72.17 years **Female: 79.43 years *Average per household income: 19,978 pesos/month *Urban per capita income: 8,635 pesos/month ''2010 Data Source:''

Main Urban Centres

Population stated as per 2011 census.

Other towns and villages

Population stated as per 2011 census.

Rural population

According to the 2011 census, Rocha department has an additional rural population of 4,146.

References

External links

Official site of the Department of Rocha - About the DepartmentINE map of Rocha DepartmentNuestra Terra, Colección Los Departamentos, Vol.10 "Rocha"
{{Authority control Departments of Uruguay