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Viedma () is the capital and fourth largest city of the
Río Negro Province Río Negro (, ''Black River'') is a province of Argentina, located in northern Patagonia. Neighboring provinces are from the south clockwise Chubut, Neuquén, Mendoza, La Pampa and Buenos Aires. To the east lies the Atlantic Ocean. Its capi ...
, in northern
Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...
,
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
. The city has 80,632 inhabitants (2020), and is located on the southern margin of the
Negro River Río Negro (Spanish and Portuguese, 'Black River') may refer to: Rivers Brazil * Rio Negro (Amazon), tributary of the Amazon River * Rio Negro (Mato Grosso do Sul) * Rio Negro (Paraná) * Rio Negro (Rio de Janeiro) * Rio Negro (Rondônia) * ...
, about 30 kilometres off the Atlantic Coast, and 960 km from the city of
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
on the National Route 3.


History

Together with the city of
Carmen de Patagones Carmen de Patagones is the southernmost city in the . Geography It is located 937 km southwest from the city of Buenos Aires, on the north bank of the Río Negro ("Black River"), near the Atlantic Ocean, and opposite Viedma, capital of ...
across the river in Buenos Aires Province, Viedma is the oldest European settlement in
Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...
, founded by Francisco de Viedma y Narváez under the name of ''Nuestra Señora del Carmen'' on 22 April 1779. Originally the two cities were one, called Carmen de Patagones. The original fort was built on the south side of the river in modern Viedma, but it was destroyed within a few months. A new fort was built on the north side, in modern Carmen de Patagones. This fort lasted much longer, and the tower still stands today. The town grew and eventually expanded back across the river into modern-day Viedma. On 11 October 1878, the town was split, with the Río Negro as their border. With the
Conquest of the Desert The Conquest of the Desert ( es, Conquista del desierto) was an Argentine military campaign directed mainly by General Julio Argentino Roca in the 1870s with the intention of establishing dominance over the Patagonian Desert, inhabited primar ...
, the city became the capital of all Argentine
Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...
and later, when that was further divided into smaller territories, the capital of the Río Negro Territory. In 1880, Alvaro Barros, the first governor of Río Negro, changed the name of the city to Viedma. During severe flooding in 1889, the capital of Río Negro was temporary moved to
Choele Choel 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. Overv ...
, but was quickly restored to Viedma. In 1986, during the
presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...
of
Raúl Alfonsín Raúl Ricardo Alfonsín (12 March 1927 – 31 March 2009) was an Argentine lawyer and statesman who served as President of Argentina from 10 December 1983 to 8 July 1989. He was the first democratically elected president after more than ...
, a proposal was made to move the federal capital from
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
to Viedma. This was to reduce congestion in Buenos Aires, to help develop Patagonia, and to promote the development of the interior. A bill to that effect was passed by
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
the following year, but owing to economic problems, the project had stagnated by the end of the Alfonsín administration in 1989.''The Strait of Magellan''
Michael A. Morris, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1989, page 33


Economy

The main economical activities in the area of the Valle Inferior are cattle, as well as some agriculture with
onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onio ...
,
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 ...
and alfalfa being the most important. However, Viedma is mainly an administrative city, being the capital city of the province.


Transport

The Gobernador Castello Airport serves flights to
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
,
Neuquén Neuquén (; arn, Nehuenken) is the capital city of the Argentine province of Neuquén and of the Confluencia Department, located in the east of the province. It occupies a strip of land west of the confluence of the Limay and Neuquén river ...
,
Bariloche San Carlos de Bariloche, usually known as Bariloche (), is a city in the province of Río Negro, Argentina, situated in the foothills of the Andes on the southern shores of Nahuel Huapi Lake. It is located within the Nahuel Huapi National Park ...
,
Puerto Madryn Puerto Madryn (; cy, Porth Madryn), also known as ''Madryn'', is a city in the province of Chubut in Argentine Patagonia. It is the capital of the Viedma Department, and has about 93,995 inhabitants according to the last census in 2010. Puer ...
,
Trelew Trelew (, from cy, tref "town" and the name of the founder, Lewis Jones) is a city in the eastern part of the Chubut Province of Argentina. Located in Patagonia, the city is the largest and most populous in the low valley of the Chubut River, wi ...
, Comodoro Rivadavia, Mar del Plata, and other cities in Argentina. It is located 6 km from the city, and has an average annual traffic of 30,000 passengers. 30 km downstream from Viedma, on the
Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
shore, the ''El Cóndor'' beach resort town (Balneario Massini) is the most visited tourist beach in the area. The Servicios Ferroviarios Patagónico connect with San Carlos de Bariloche.


Climate

Viedma has a cool
semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...
(
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
''BSk''). The nearby South Atlantic Ocean and the Viedma river moderate the climate. The city is windy throughout the entire year. Average windspeeds ranging from a low of to in December. Generally, the windiest period is from October to February while March to June are the least windy. The cause of this is attributed to the effects produced by the convergence of distinct wind currents originating from the general atmospheric circulation from both the
South Atlantic High South Atlantic High is a semipermanent pressure high centered at about 25°S, 15°W, in the Atlantic Ocean. It is also called the St. Helena High, Saint Helena island being the only land in the area. It can stretch thousands of miles across the ...
and the South Pacific High. Being located in a transitional area between the South Atlantic High and the South Pacific High, this geographic location is responsible for the variability in wind speeds throughout the year. Occasionally, strong gusts exceeding can occur. Winters are cool with a July mean of and frosts are common, averaging 9–10 days from June to August. During this time of the year, overcast days are more common, averaging 9–10 days per month although sunny days are fairly common as well. Spring and fall are transition seasons featuring warm daytime temperatures and cool nighttime temperatures and are highly variable with some days reaching above and below . Summers are hot and dry with a January high of and a low of . The diurnal range (difference between average high and average low) is large along with the temperature profile of Viedma makes it appropriate for the development of wide variety of subtropical crops. Humid days are rare owing to the low humidity (around 50%) and a
dewpoint The dew point is the temperature to which air must be cooled to become saturated with water vapor, assuming constant air pressure and water content. When cooled below the dew point, moisture capacity is reduced and airborne water vapor will co ...
temperature of . During the hottest days in summer when the wind is from the northwest or west,
sea breeze A sea breeze or onshore breeze is any wind that blows from a large body of water toward or onto a landmass; it develops due to differences in air pressure created by the differing heat capacities of water and dry land. As such, sea breezes ar ...
s can occur that can move inland in the opposite of the mentioned wind directions which moderate summer temperatures. This occurs because when the surrounding land heats faster than the sea, causing the land to have lower atmospheric pressure than the sea which has a relatively higher atmospheric pressure. As a result, the pressure difference causes the sea breeze to move inland to the lower pressure area. In contrast, during night, the reverse occurs as the land cools faster than the surrounding sea. Frosts that occur in winter are usually of short duration and are not intense. The average date of the first frost occurs on April 8 and the last frost occurs on November 21 and there are 210 frost free days in an average year. Relative humidity is low, averaging 62%, with the summer months being drier than the winter months. Nonetheless, it is common to have high humidity conditions, particularly during early morning and late evening when temperatures are lower. On average, Viedma receives of precipitation per year which is evenly distributed throughout the year. During spring and summer, precipitation occurs irregularly and there is a water deficit, owing to higher temperatures and windier conditions that promote
evapotranspiration Evapotranspiration (ET) is the combined processes by which water moves from the earth’s surface into the atmosphere. It covers both water evaporation (movement of water to the air directly from soil, canopies, and water bodies) and transpi ...
and drier conditions. In winter and autumn, precipitation occurs regularly resulting in less water deficit owing to lower temperatures, more moderate winds, and higher humidity (lower evapotranspiration). On average, there are 73 days with measurable precipitation. Summers tend to have less rainy days than winter due to rainfall occurring more intensely (shorter bursts). Viedma receives 2620 hours of sunshine per year or 57.7% of possible sunshine per year, ranging from a low of 43.5% in July to a high of 69% in March. This makes Viedma relatively sunny relative to the average in the country. The highest recorded temperature was on February 18, 1987 while the lowest recorded temperature was on July 4, 1988.


See also

*
Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway The Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway (BAGS) ( es, Ferrocarril del Sud) was one of the ''Big Four'' broad gauge, , British-owned companies that built and operated railway networks in Argentina. The company was founded by Edward Lumb in 1862 ...
*
Ferrocarril General Roca The General Roca Railway (FCGR) (native name: Ferrocarril General Roca) is a broad gauge railway in Argentina which runs from Constitución station in Buenos Aires to the south of the country through the provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, ...
* Servicios Ferroviarios Patagónico


References


External links

*
Welcome Viedma
(English)
Viedma and around
(Spanish)
Clasificados Viedma
(Spanish)
Viedma Portal
(Spanish)

(English) {{DEFAULTSORT:Viedma, Rio Negro Populated places established in 1779 Capitals of Argentine provinces Populated places in Río Negro Province Cities in Argentina