Caaguazú () is a department in

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

. The capital is the city of Coronel Oviedo.

History

In the 16th and 17th centuries, European settlers in the present-day department of Caaguazú were threatened by the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

Bandeirant and Guaicurú Indians, preventing permanent settlement of the land for many years. In the 18th century, repopulation of Caaguazu began again. In 1712, Gregorio Bazán de Pedraza founded the Villa de San Isidro Labrador de Curuguaty, followed by Ybytimí in 1715, San Joaquín in 1746, and

Carayaó Carayaó is a town in the Caaguazú department of Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It i ...

in 1770. In 1906, the area was assigned the name

Yhú Yhú is a district in the Caaguazú department of Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It ...

, including the departmental capital of Yhú, Ajos (present day Coronel Oviedo),

, San Joaquín and Caaguazú. Upon territorial reorganization in 1945, it was given the name of Caaguazú. In 1973, the present-day territory and limits of this department were defined. Caaguazú is the home department of several Paraguayan personalities, such as the writer Mario Halley Mora and the musician Cayo Sila Godoy. The name "Caaguazú" (Ka'aguazu in Guaraní) means "great herb."

Limits

Caaguazú is located in the middle of the Oriental Region of the country, between latitudes 24º30’ and 25º50’ S and longitudes 55º00’ and 56º45’ W. Caaguazú is bordered: * To the north by San Pedro and Canindeyú * To the east by

Alto Paraná The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...

* To the west by

Cordillera A cordillera is an extensive chain and/or network system of mountain ranges, such as those in the west coast of the Americas. The term is borrowed from Spanish, where the word comes from , a diminutive of ('rope'). The term is most commonly u ...

and

Paraguarí Paraguarí (; gn, Paraguari) is a city, '' distrito'' and capital of Paraguarí Department in Paraguay, located 66 km from the country's capital, Asunción. At the 2002 census it had a population of 22,154.Guairá and Caazapá

Districts

The department is divided into 23 districts: ''*The new district of Tembiaporá has not yet been added to the list and map since it was created recently.''

Climate

The average climate is mild with abundant rains. The temperature reaches 41 degrees Celsius in the summer and drops to 0 degrees C in the winter. It is one of the best areas for agriculture in the country.

Orography and Soil

The Cordillera de Caaguazú extends throughout the department from north to south. It is made up of the mountain ranges of San Joaquín, in San Joaquín and Yhú; Tajao Paú and Carayaó; and Caaguazú, between

and Coronel Oviedo. Peak heights are no more than 200 meters, but to the east elevations reach 250 meters. To the west there are formations of fluvial and glacial origins that date from the Carboniferous period (

Paleozoic era The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838 by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ''z ...

), with sandstone soils. To the east, the soil is also of fluvial origin, lacustrine and marine, dating to the Permian period. In the mountain range, there is sandstone from the Triassic period which contains quartz. The soils are sandstone and

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...

in addition to mountains and meadows. The territory is made up of a succession of valleys and elevated lands that range from the north to the south. In the north, there are valleys with ample fields apt for cattle; to the east, forests and natural herbal lands predominate. The land is commonly used for agriculture.

Hydrography

The most important bodies of water that cross the department are the

Paraguay River The Paraguay River (Río Paraguay in Spanish, Rio Paraguai in Portuguese, Ysyry Paraguái in Guarani) is a major river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. It flows about from its headwaters i ...

, the Tebicuary-mi River, and the streams Tapiracuai, Mbutuy, Hondo and Tobatiry. Other local rivers include the Paraná River and the Acaray, Monday-mi, Yguazú, Capiibary and Guyraungua.

Natural Environment and Vegetation

The Caaguazú department includes the Central Forest region, in the middle of the department, the Alto Paraná, in the east, and the Central Littoral, in the west. The principal activity of the region is the harvesting of trees, which provides the raw material for the wood industry. Caaguzú is one of the areas that is most affected by

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...

in Paraguay. Some plant species in danger of extinction are the yvyra paje, nandyta, cedar and tumera aureli. Endangered animal species include the tirica, jaguareté, and arira’y.

Economy

The department of Caaguazú is the number one national producer of

manioc ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...

in the country and the second in

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

and

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

production. The population also practices cattle rearing and the farming of other fruits vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, strawberries, and citrus fruits. Caaguazú is the fourth greatest producer of

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...

. The most important industries are cotton, oil, wood industry, and the manufacturing of furniture. The central location of Caaguazú and the siting of Coronel Oviedo and the city of Caaguazú at crossroads makes the area an important commercial center.

Communication and Services

National routes that serve Caaguazú are “Mcal. Estigarribia” ( number 2) and “Dr. Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia” ( number 7). They cross the entire department, connecting Asunción in the west with Ciudad del Este in the east. The route “Gral. Aquino” ( number 3) meets route “Bernardino Caballero” ( number 5) in Coronel Oviedo, providing a connection to Concepción and Pedro Juan Caballero in the north of the country. The route “Dr. Blas Garay” ( number 8) joins with route number 2 in Cnel. Oviedo and communicates with Villarrica and Caazapá. There are a few runways for small airplanes in the department. The department has phone service for more than 10,300 lines. AM radio stations include Radio Excélsior, Tajy, Coronel Oviedo, La Voz del Este, and FM radio stations include Seguritec Ingeniería S. A., Horizonte, Centenario, Lo Mita, Mensajero, Radio Clásica, América, Alborada, among others.

Education

There are 589 institutions of elementary education, 913 basic schools, and 151 high schools (according to the Paraguayan educational system) in the department of Caaguazú.

Health

There are 65 health establishments, including

hospitals A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

and other health care centers.

References

Bibliography

* Geografía Ilustrada del

, Distribuidora Arami SRL; 2007. * Geografía del

, Primera Edición 1999, Editorial Hispana Paraguay SRL.

External links

Portal de Caaguazú SENATUR
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caaguazu Department States and territories established in 1945