Puerto Madryn

Puerto Madryn (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈpweɾto ˈmaðɾin]; Welsh: Porth 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.

Puerto Madryn

Porth Madryn
City
Coat of arms
Puerto Madryn
Location of Puerto Madryn in Argentina
Puerto Madryn
Puerto Madryn (Argentina)
Coordinates: 42°46′S 65°3′W
Country Argentina
Province Chubut
DepartmentViedma
Founded28 July 1865
Founded byLove Jones Parry
Government
 • MayorRicardo Sastre (Justicialist Party)
Area
 • Total330 km2 (130 sq mi)
Elevation
17 m (56 ft)
Population
 (2010 census)
 • Total93,995
 • Density280/km2 (740/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Madrynense
Time zoneUTC-3 (ART)
CPA base
U9120
Dialing code+54 2804
ClimateBWk
WebsiteOfficial website

Puerto Madryn is protected by the Golfo Nuevo, which is formed by the Península Valdés and the Punta Ninfas. It is an important centre for tourists visiting the natural attractions of the Península Valdés and the coast.

A new shopping mall in the city centre has helped tourism significantly, making Puerto Madryn a more attractive place for both international and domestic tourists visiting Patagonia. It is twinned with Nefyn, a small town on the Llŷn Peninsula in North Wales, the result of its enduring link with Welsh culture since the Welsh settlement in Argentina. The first of a two-Test tour to Argentina by the Wales national rugby union team was played in 2006 in Puerto Madryn, a 27–25 win for Argentina. Puerto Madryn is home to two football clubs; Club Social y Atlético Guillermo Brown, who play in Nacional B and Deportivo Madryn that currently play in Torneo Argentino B.

A basketball team, Deportivo Puerto Madryn, plays in the Liga Nacional de Básquetbol (LNB). Their home arena is known as the Deportivo Puerto Madryn Arena.

El Tehuelche Airport is located 10 km (6 miles) northwest of the city centre. Commercial flights from Buenos Aires, Ushuaia, and other Argentinian cities are available. Most tourists fly into Trelew Airport as flights into Puerto Madryn are restricted as a result of environmental concerns.

Geography and climate

Puerto Madryn is situated in Chubut on the Golfo Nuevo, which is formed by the Valdés Peninsula and Punta Ninfas. The climate is that of a temperate desert zone, with an annual precipitation of between 150 and 200 mm (6" to 8").

Climate data for Puerto Madryn (extremes 1901–1950, 1982–present)[lower-alpha 1]
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 43.4
(110.1)		 40.5
(104.9)		 37.9
(100.2)		 34.9
(94.8)		 28.5
(83.3)		 25.4
(77.7)		 24.5
(76.1)		 29.0
(84.2)		 30.2
(86.4)		 35.0
(95.0)		 38.0
(100.4)		 39.0
(102.2)		 43.4
(110.1)
Average high °C (°F) 27.4
(81.3)		 26.9
(80.4)		 24.4
(75.9)		 20.8
(69.4)		 16.1
(61.0)		 12.9
(55.2)		 12.8
(55.0)		 14.5
(58.1)		 17.0
(62.6)		 19.9
(67.8)		 23.7
(74.7)		 26.2
(79.2)		 20.2
(68.4)
Daily mean °C (°F) 19.9
(67.8)		 19.4
(66.9)		 17.3
(63.1)		 14.2
(57.6)		 10.4
(50.7)		 7.8
(46.0)		 7.3
(45.1)		 8.5
(47.3)		 10.5
(50.9)		 13.1
(55.6)		 16.0
(60.8)		 18.3
(64.9)		 13.6
(56.5)
Average low °C (°F) 13.7
(56.7)		 13.2
(55.8)		 11.1
(52.0)		 8.1
(46.6)		 5.1
(41.2)		 3.0
(37.4)		 2.1
(35.8)		 2.7
(36.9)		 4.5
(40.1)		 6.9
(44.4)		 9.7
(49.5)		 12.0
(53.6)		 7.7
(45.9)
Record low °C (°F) 3.7
(38.7)		 1.7
(35.1)		 −2.6
(27.3)		 −4.8
(23.4)		 −8.2
(17.2)		 −9.9
(14.2)		 −11.6
(11.1)		 −10.0
(14.0)		 −8.0
(17.6)		 −5.9
(21.4)		 −2.0
(28.4)		 −0.6
(30.9)		 −11.6
(11.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 10.0
(0.39)		 14.1
(0.56)		 16.6
(0.65)		 12.6
(0.50)		 23.8
(0.94)		 14.1
(0.56)		 16.6
(0.65)		 10.6
(0.42)		 14.1
(0.56)		 17.8
(0.70)		 10.1
(0.40)		 12.4
(0.49)		 172.8
(6.80)
Average relative humidity (%) 49 53 54 56 63 66 63 59 58 59 51 48 57
Mean monthly sunshine hours 289 251 234 170 137 118 134 149 194 234 255 273 2,438
Percent possible sunshine 62 65 61 52 45 43 46 47 55 57 58 58 54
Source 1: Secretaria de Mineria,[1] Oficina de Riesgo Agropecuario (extremes 1990–present)[2] Centro Nacional Patagónico (extremes 1982–2001)[3]
Source 2: FAO (sun only)[4]

History

The town was founded on 28 July 1865, when 150 Welsh immigrants arriving aboard the clipper Mimosa named the natural port Porth Madryn in honour of Sir Love Jones-Parry, whose estate in Wales was called "Madryn". Conditions were difficult and the settlers had to dig irrigation ditches for their first crops.[5]

The settlement grew as a result of the building of the Central Chubut Railway by Welsh, Spanish, and Italian immigrants. This line, opened in 1889, linked the town to Trelew via the lower Chubut River valley.[6]

Puerto Madryn was the port to which Argentine prisoners of war captured in the Falklands Islands during the 1982 war were repatriated on the vessels SS Canberra and MV Norland,[7] which sailed from Port Stanley on 18 June 1982.

Twin towns

See also

Notes
  1. The record highs and lows are based on the Secretaria de Mineria link for the period 1901–1950 while records beyond 1982 come from the Oficina de Riesgo Agropecuario link which covers from 1990–present and data from Centro Nacional Patagónico which covers 1982–2001.

References
  1. "Provincia de Chubut – Clima Y Meteorologia: Datos Meteorologicos Y Pluviometicos" (in Spanish). Secretaria de Mineria de la Nacion (Argentina). Archived from the original on 19 January 2015. Retrieved April 2013. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  2. "Puerto Madryn, Chubut". Estadísticas meteorológicas decadiales (in Spanish). Oficina de Riesgo Agropecuario. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  3. "El Clima de la Ciudad de Puerto Madryn" (in Spanish). Centro Nacional Patagónico. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  4. "Cuadro 13: Sumas Mensuales y Anuales de las Horas de Sol Efectivas y Porcentaje de los Totales de Horas de Sol" (PDF). Estudio Sobre la Rehabilitacion de Tierras en el Valle de Biedma: Informed Final–Volumen II (in Spanish). Food and Agriculture Organization. p. 97. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  5. "The History of the Welsh settlement of Patagonia, Argentina".
  6. Williams, Glyn (1975). The desert and the dream: A study of Welsh colonization in Chubut 1865–1915. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 82. ISBN 0-7083-0579-2.
  7. "Britain and Argentina agree on return of most P.O.W.'s". The New York Times.
  8. Ciudades y Provincias argentinas hermanadas con contrapartes extranjeras, en Asuntos Federales y Electorales de la Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores de Argentina
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