 |
| |
|
Home > Travel South America > South America Destinations > Rawson
Rawson
South America is thefourth largest continent of the Western Hemisphere. It is divided politically into 12 independent countries namely Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela and the overseas department of French Guiana. The continent extends to 7,640 kilometers from Punta Gallinas, Colombia, in the north to Cape Horn, Chile, in the south. At its broadest point, near where it is crossed by the equator, the continent extends to 5,300 kilometers from east to west.
South America is connected to North America by the Isthmus of Panama. It is washed on the north by the Caribbean Sea, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. Topographically the continent is divided into three sections namely the South American cordillera, the interior lowlands, and the continental shield. Roman Catholicism is the dominant religion and Portuguese and Spanish are the primary languages of the continent.
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. 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 became the provincial capital in 1957, when Chubut was constituted as a province. Rawson is located some 20 kilometres from both Trelew, the Almirante Zar Trelew Airport, and is on National Route 3, about 1,500 kilometres south of Buenos Aires. It is crossed by the Chubut River, over which a bridge, still in use, was built in 1889. Playa Union, Rawson's resort beach, is 6 kilometers 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. It is one of South America’s most popular destinations, and is well known for the quantity of cultural related attractions and monuments that the city has embraced.
Back to South America Destinations
|
|
|
|
|
|