Artigas () is the capital of the

Artigas Department Artigas Department (, ) is the northernmost Departments of Uruguay, department of Uruguay, located in its northwestern region. Its capital is the city of Artigas, Uruguay, Artigas, which borders on the Brazilian city of Quaraí. Artigas Department ...

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. Its name comes from that of the national hero,

José Gervasio Artigas José Gervasio Artigas Arnal (; June 19, 1764 – September 23, 1850) was a soldier and statesman who is regarded as a national hero in Uruguay and the father of Uruguayan nationhood. Born in Montevideo, Artigas enlisted in the Spanish ...

, who fought for the emancipation of the River Plate, and sought to create a federative nation from these colonies. As of the census of 2023, it is the eleventh most populous city in the country with a population of 43,897.

History

It was founded on 12 September 1852 by Don Carlos Catalá as the town of San Eugenio del Cuareim. On 5 September 1884 it became capital of the department. It was renamed Artigas and its status was elevated from ''villa'' (town) to ''ciudad'' (city) on 31 August 1915.

Economy

Artigas is a centre for trading grain crops (primarily

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

) with

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. The railroad station and, since 1973,

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

are focused on this commerce. The hills in the area contain significant numbers of precious stones, especially agate and

amethyst Amethyst is a Violet (color), violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Koine Greek from - , "not" and (Ancient Greek) / (Modern Greek), "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from Alcohol into ...

, which were first found in 1860, since when mining has taken place. Souvenirs and handicrafts made using these gem stones are produced in Artigas and exported widely.

IUGS geological heritage site

In respect of it being 'the site of world-class amethyst deposits, where the largest amethyst-filled giant geodes were ever found', the

International Union of Geological Sciences The International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) is an international non-governmental organization devoted to global cooperation in the field of geology. As of 2023, it represents more than 1 million geoscientists around the world. About Fo ...

(IUGS) included the 'Deposits of Amethyst of Los Catalanes Gemological District' in its assemblage of 100 'geological heritage sites' around the world in a listing published in October 2022. The organisation defines an IUGS Geological Heritage Site as 'a key place with geological elements and/or processes of international scientific relevance, used as a reference, and/or with a substantial contribution to the development of geological sciences through history.'

Population

In 2011 Artigas had a population of 40,658. Source: ''Instituto Nacional de Estadística de Uruguay''

Geography

The city is located on the border with

, separated only by a bridge from the town Quaraí of the state

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

of Brazil. It is the farthest city from Uruguay's capital

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, being away.

Climate

Artigas has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

, described by the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

as ''Cfa''. Summers are warm to hot and winters are cool, with the occurrence of frosts and fog. The precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year, with an average of roughly , and the annual average temperature is around .

Transportation

The city uses Artigas International Airport.

Consular representation

has a Vice-consulate in Artigas.

Places of worship

* San Eugenio del Cuareim, Artigas, St. Eugene of the Cuareim Parish Church (Roman Catholic)

Notable people

* Adelia Silva (1925–2004), educator and writer who had a significant role in elevating the civil rights of black people in Uruguay. * Darwin Núñez (born 1999), footballer * Pablo Aurrecochea (born 1981), footballer * Agustín Da Silveira (born 2000), footballer

References

External links

INE map of Artigas, Pintadito, Cerro Ejido, Cerro Signorelli and Cerro San Eugenio
{{Authority control Populated places in the Artigas Department Populated places established in 1852 Brazil–Uruguay border crossings 1852 establishments in Uruguay First 100 IUGS Geological Heritage Sites