Choele Choel

Choele Choel
Coordinates: 39°16′S 65°41′W
Country	Argentina
Province	Río Negro
Established	July 9, 1879
Government
• Intendente	Ricardo Calvo
Elevation	118 m (388 ft)
Population (2001 census [INDEC])
• Total	9,791
CPA Base	R8360
Website	http://www.munichoelechoel.com.ar/

Choele Choel is the capital of the department of Avellaneda in the Argentine province of Río Negro, and the most important settlement within the Valle Medio ("Middle Valley") agricultural area of the Río Negro River in Patagonia

Overview

Recreational river-shore in Choele Choel.

Choele Choel, with a population of 9,791 (2001 census [INDEC]), is located at the intersection of the National Routes #22 and #250, around 1000 kilometres from Buenos Aires, 180 from General Roca, 193 from the Las Grutas beach resort, and 460 from Puerto Madryn.

Its long distance bus terminal is a common stop for buses going to both sea-side Patagonia (Puerto Madryn, Río Gallegos, Ushuaia) and North-Andean Patagonia (Bariloche, El Bolsón).

During the 1990s, the airport used to serve regular flights to Buenos Aires, but currently serves only infrequent private charters.

History

Originally named Nicolás Avellaneda, it was founded on July 9, 1879 by General Conrado Villegas. After a flood, the inhabitants moved to a place known as Pampa de los Molinos. They would stay there until Match 18, 1882, when the settlement was moved to its current location.

The town acquired special importance during the Conquest of the Desert, when the border between the white man and the Native Americans was pushed south the shore of the Río Negro River.

In 1883, a post office was installed in the town. Salesians arrived in 1890. The Provincial School #10 was created in 1904, and in 1917 the Library. Irish Argentine writer Rodolfo Walsh was born in the town in 1927, and Choele Choel is home to a sizable Russian community; besides the European immigrant communities common to most of Argentina, the town received refugees from Laos in the 1970s.

The Name

There are several versions regarding the meaning of Choele Choel: it might be from the Araucan language, translated as "Yellow flower race," or from the Tehuelche language ("Small river rolling-stones"). Another version translates it as "Bark scarecrows."