Rawson, Chubut
Rawson is the capital of the
Argentine province of
Chubut, in the
Patagonia. It has about 26,000 inhabitants, and it is the head town of the
Rawson Department, which has 122,000 inhabitants (figures as per the ). Even though it is the provincial capital, its population is smaller than that of other cities in Chubut:
Comodoro Rivadavia,
Trelew,
Puerto Madryn and
Esquel.
Rawson is located some 20 kilometres of both
Trelew, the
Almirante Zar Trelew Airport, and
National Route 3, about 1,500 kilometres south of
Buenos Aires. It is crossed by the
Chubut River, over which a bridge was built in 1889 (it is still in use).
Playa Unión, Rawson's resort beach, is 6 km from the city centre.
The city has a fishing port, Puerto Rawson, on the
Atlantic coast, 5 km down the river. Provincial administration and the port are the main economical activities in the city.
There are two small museums in Rawson. The City Museum, above a cinema, has historical objects and old photographs. The Don Bosco Museum has a collection of local history and wildlife, including artefacts from the Welsh community. The
General San Martín Zoo and Park covers, since 1976, 6 hectares of the shore of the Chubut River.
Rawson's climate is dry, with temperatures in the range of 0 °C to 15 °C in winter, and 10 °C to 20 °C in spring and autumn, with peaks of up to 38 °C in summer.
The town was founded on
September 15 1865, officially by Colonel Julián Murga, and settled by newly arrived immigrants from
Wales, and was named after Dr.
Guillermo Rawson, the Argentine Interior Minister of the time, who supported the
Welsh settlement in Argentina.
Substantial construction of government buildings in the 1970s resulted in the town being nicknamed "The little
Brasilia of Patagonia". It was originally known as Trerawson, Welsh for "Rawson's town", a name it still retains among Welsh speakers and some older residents.
*
Interpatagonia.com: Rawson*
City map*
Tourist Office of Chubut (Spanish)
