Río Gallegos, Santa Cruz

This article is about the city. For the river, see Gallegos River.

Río Gallegos
—  City  —
San Martín Avenue
Coat of arms
Río Gallegos Location of Río Gallegos in Argentina
Coordinates: 51°38′S 69°13′W
Country	Argentina
Province	Santa Cruz
Department	Güer Aike
Elevation	20 m (70 ft)
Population (2010)
• Total	97,742
Time zone	ART (UTC−3)
CPA base	Z9400
Dialing code	+54 2966
Website	mrg.gov.ar

Río Gallegos (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈri.o ɣaˈʃeɣos]) is the capital of the Patagonia province of Santa Cruz, Argentina. It has a population of about 98,000, per the 2010 census [INDEC], a 24% increase over the 79,000 in the 2001 census [INDEC]. The city sits on the estuary of the Gallegos River, 2,636 km (1,638 mi) south from Buenos Aires.

History

The river was first sighted by a European in 1525, by the explorer García Jofre de Loaísa, and was called Río San Idelfonso. Simón de Alcazaba y Sotomayor's 1535 expedition was the first to name the river "Río Gallegos". The area was not settled by Europeans until much later, with one of the earliest recorded indications of habitation in 1885, when the Argentine government wished to better express its sovereignty over southern Patagonia — a naval base was created which increased the development of the town. Between 1912 and 1920, the government encouraged settlers from the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas) and southern Chile with preferential farming conditions. Some 3,000 arrived and boosted the town. As sheep-farming increased, Río Gallegos became the principal port for exporting sheep and their products. The Pioneers Museum is a preserved old Patagonian house exhibiting the life of the early settlers.

Governor Ramón Lista decided to move the Territorial Capital from Puerto Santa Cruz to Río Gallegos in 1888; official ratification of this decision came on 19 May 1904. The Cathedral of Our Lady of Luján was consecrated in 1900. The Territory of Santa Cruz was declared a Province in 1957, with Mario Cástulo Paradelo as its first Governor.

In the 1982 Falklands War, the city airport was base of Argentine Air Force Mirage III interceptors and A-4 Skyhawks strike aircraft.

Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007, was mayor of Río Gallegos between 1987 and 1991.

Today, Río Gallegos is an important city of the Argentine far south, with military bases and an international airport. Flights between Chile and Mount Pleasant airbase at the Falkland Islands stop at Río Gallegos once a month.

Fauna

The city of Rio Gallegos has one of the greatest riches animals, both inside and on its outskirts. You can find the loica, southern oystercatcher, red fox, the biguá or ashen.

• Thrush: A large bird, dark brown back, belly and chest pale yellow ocher. The throat is white, spotted black and the beak and feet are yellow.
• gray fox: The average weight is 3 kg. Fur yellowish gray and black. Legs pale tan and white inside. It is nocturnal and eating habits are wide, both eat birds, rodents, hares v fruit. Sometimes they come together to hunt large prey such as sheep, although they do in times of great food shortage. Often large galleries dug 3 to 5 m long, with multiple cameras (breeding, reserve) and a main entrance and other in case of danger. It measures 75 cm in length between head and neck and 33 cm tail.
• Guanaco: It has claws on all fingers. It is a conspicuous animal, that is 1.10 m to the height of the cross. The neck is long, as the legs. The coat is thick and woolly reddish brown on the flanks yellowish orange, white neck, belly and legs and gray on the head. It is called "chulengos" to raising up to three weeks, which is characterized by tan hair. It is herbivorous. In Santa Cruz lives in open areas in the steppe, without penetrating into the forest as they do in Tierra del Fuego.
• rhea: The head, neck and back of the body are gray-brown to brown, dotted with white. The belly is whitish, as are the feathers that cover the top of the tarsus. He lives in the steppe, where they eat seeds, leaves and branches of plants as well as insects and small vertebrates. Several females lay their eggs in nests made in the ground by a male. The eggs are incubated by the male, who continues to care after the babies or charitos.
• Chingolo: A small bird, 12 cm. It is brown dorsally, mottled with black. With a gray semicopete black face with gray cheeks. The throat is white with a tan incomplete necklace that goes from the neck to the chest. The ventral side is whitish. He lives in all terrestrial environments, including environments villages.
• Flamenco Austral: It is large aquatic bird of 70 cm. The color is salmon pink with red covers that cover the black shirts. The bill is large, pink with white apical half black, invertebrates adapted to filter the muddy bottom of the lakes and sea coast. The legs are long, light gray, with knees and feet carmine. They inhabit fresh and brackish lagoons and estuaries.
• common Cauquén: It is a bird like a goose, 54 cm. In the male plumage is white, barred with black on back, flanks, neck and belly. The legs and beak are black. The female is chestnut brown, with ocher on the head and back and breast barred with black. Belly barred black and white. The legs are yellow. He lives in streams in forests, meadows and marshes Patagonia, where it eats grass tender.
• black-necked swan: It is very large, measuring 80 cm. It's like the goose, which is distinguished by the head and long neck black, the rest is white. On the peak shows a red wattles. Juveniles have brownish gray head and neck and the rest brown; they live in freshwater environments.

Flora

On the outskirts of the city of Rio Gallegos can see a wide variety of native plant into which a substantial proportion has potential ornamental.

It is important to keep them, knowing their life cycles and, why not incorporate them into green space of the city. There are already a large number of houses in Rio Gallegos on their foreheads have native flowers, reflecting the potential of santacruceñas wildflowers to be part of the gardens. This collection of photographs and text has been prepared to present some of the species that appear easier to grow.

The flower is a genetic resource are to be used with care. many wild species are rare or scarce. Some are endemic, ie not found elsewhere in the world are in numerical decline or endangered after years of overgrazing and we should keep the interest aroused lead to loss of populations.

The collection and handling of seeds, bulbs or other reproductive organs should be performed with care and according to the International Convention on Biodiversity, which ensures right of the people of Patagonia to use, and the need to protect them.

Its flowers are recognized: Calafates, Anartrofilos, Oxalis, Violets and Pansies, Paper flowers, Calceolarias, Hipoqueris, Leucerias, Perezias, Senecios, Mata arrears, Senecio miser, Amancay, lilies, lily of the field.

Images

Presidente Nestor Carlos Kirchner Avenue

Cathedral of Our Lady of Luján

Kirchner Mausoleum

Climate

Average temperatures (min., avrg., max.) and precipitations.

The climate is semiarid, windy and cold, with snow during the winter. It is one of the windiest cities on earth, with winds above 50 km per hour being commonplace, and over 100 km per hour not exceptional. Winters average 5ºC (41F) during the day and -2ºC (28F) at night, but can reach -20ºC (-4F) on occasion. Summers are extremely windy and cloudy, with days reaching a cool 19ºC (66F) and nights dropping to a relatively cold 7ºC (45F). Cold weather can occur at any time, and despite the very low precipitation, bad weather with light drizzle and clouds is quite common.

Climate data for Río Gallegos
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Source: Hong Kong Observatory

See also

• 1949 Tierra del Fuego earthquake

References

• Municipality of Río Gallegos — Official website.
• Rio Gallegos Online Information — Online Information in Spanish.
• Municipal information: Municipal Affairs Federal Institute (IFAM), Municipal Affairs Secretariat, Ministry of Interior, Argentina. (Spanish)
• Argentum21 - Rio Gallegos
• Video Footage of the City - YouTube
• Video Footage of the City 2 - YouTube