Rocha () is the capital city of the

Rocha Department Rocha () is a Departments of Uruguay, department in the east of Uruguay. Its capital is the city of Rocha, Uruguay, Rocha. It borders Maldonado Department to its west, Lavalleja Department to its northwest, Treinta y Tres Department to its north, ...

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 ...

History

It was founded in 1793 and had acquired the status of "Villa" (town) before the independence of Uruguay. On 7 July 1880 it was made capital of the Department of Rocha by the Act of Ley Nº 1.474, while its status was elevated to "Ciudad" (city) on 10 January 1894 by the Act of Ley Nº 2.252.

In literature

Rocha department features in Carlos María Domínguez's 2004 novel (''The house of paper''). The narrator visits the ruins of a house of books, which had been built and then destroyed by an obsessive book collector on the sand spit separating Rocha lagoon from the ocean.

Population

In Rocha had a population of 26,784. Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística de Uruguay

Geography

The city is located on the intersection of Route 9 with Route 15, about northeast of San Carlos of

Maldonado Department The Maldonado Department (; ), with an area of and 212,951 inhabitants (2023), is located to the southeast of Uruguay. Its capital is Maldonado, Uruguay, Maldonado. Geography Neighbouring departments are Rocha Department, Rocha to the East, Lav ...

. The stream Arroyo Rocha flows along the west limits of the city.

Climate

Rocha has a mild

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 ...

(''Cfa'', according to 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 ...

), with pleasant summers and cool winters. It was

oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places * Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...

(''Cfb'') before the current climatic table (1961-1990 period). The precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year, with an average of . The hottest month, January, has an average temperature of , and the coldest month, July, has an average of . The average yearly temperature is .

Transportation

Rocha is on the main road from

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 ...

to the border with Brazil. Buses connect it to Montevideo. The rail station was closed in the 1980s. There is a small local airfield. There are plans to improve the local infrastructure substantially. The major project planned is to build a deep water port in or near

La Paloma "La Paloma", "The Dove" in English, is a popular Spanish song that has been produced and reinterpreted in diverse cultures, settings, arrangements, and recordings over the last 140 years. The song was written by the Spanish Basques, Basque comp ...

. There are also plans to build an airport to bring in tourism, for example, Rocha's lagoon has a circular bridge especially for it.

Places of worship

* Parish Church of Our Lady of Remedies (

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

) * Parish Church of Our Lady of Fatima (Roman Catholic)

Notable people

* Javier Barrios Amorín, politician * Alberto Demicheli (1896–1980), Uruguayan political figure * Gonzalo González (born 1993), Uruguayan footballer *

Gladys Castelvecchi Gladys Castelvecchi (November 26, 1922 in Rocha, Uruguay – May 28, 2008 in 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 h ...

, poet * Carlos Malo, singer *

Carlos Julio Pereyra Carlos Julio Pereyra Pereyra (15 November 1922 – 9 February 2020) was a Uruguayan schoolteacher, author and politician belonging to the National Party. Pereyra was born in Rocha. He had a long political career, serving as representative and lo ...

, politician * Elio Rodríguez (born 1962), former Uruguayan footballer * Renzo Sánchez (born 2004), Uruguayan footballer * Jesús Toscanini, footballer * Pedro Vaz, diplomat * Constancio C. Vigil, author

References

External links

INE map of Rocha
{{Authority control Populated places in the Rocha Department