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General Roca | |
|---|---|
 Monument to the Apple and the Museum of Natural History, one of the world's foremostdinosaur fossil displays | |
  General Roca Location of General Roca in Argentina | |
| Coordinates:39°2′S67°35′W / 39.033°S 67.583°W /-39.033; -67.583 | |
| Country |  Argentina |
| Province |  Río Negro Province |
| Department | General Roca |
| Founded | September 1, 1879 |
| Government | |
| • Intendant | María Emilia Soria (PJ) |
| Highest elevation | 300 m (1,000 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 227 m (745 ft) |
| Population (2010 census) | |
• Total | 85,883 |
| Time zone | UTC−3 (ART) |
| CPA base | R8332 |
| Dialing code | +54 298 |
| Climate | BWk |
| Website | Official website |
General Roca is a city in the northeast of theArgentineprovince ofRío Negro, northernPatagonia. It was founded on September 1, 1879, by ColonelLorenzo Vintter, on the order ofWar MinisterJulio A. Roca,[1] during theConquest of the Desert. The place of the first settlement was known by nativemapuche people as Fiske Menuco, which means "deep water".[1] It was destroyed in 1899 by a flooding of theRío Negro, and had to be rebuilt 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) northwest in higher lands.
Its present population is approximately 86,000 (according to 2010census[INDEC]), making it the second most populated city in the province afterBariloche, and the second most important in theAlto Valle afterNeuquén. The main activity around the city is the intensive agriculture underirrigation, which made possible an intense agro-industrial activity. The main crops arepears andapples. The city hosts the annual National Festival of the Apple, which is held in early February.
General Roca, named afterJulio A. Roca, is located 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) fromBuenos Aires, 505 kilometres (314 mi) fromBahía Blanca, 513 kilometres (319 mi) fromViedma and 400 kilometres (250 mi) from the deepwater port ofSan Antonio Este. The city is connected to the east byArgentine National Route 22, and is also crossed by provincial routes 6 and 65, which connect it to other cities in the Alto Valle, with the south of the province, and with theLa Pampa Province. Through the centre of the city drives the wide rail train lane that joinsZapala with Bahía Blanca and Buenos Aires. The local airport connects General Roca with other points of the country, mainly with Buenos Aires andMendoza. Nonetheless, due to lack of maintenance, the airport has not been used since the year 2000.
Together withVilla Regina,Allen,Cinco Saltos,Cipolletti,Neuquén and many other smaller towns, they constitute thelineal urbanization of theAlto Valle of theNegro River. The city is surrounded by a patchwork ofirrigated land totaling 100,000 hectares (250,000 acres). Besides apple and pearorchards, there are vineyards and other establishments producing peaches and a variety of other fruits and vegetables. Within the industrial sector, the fruit-refrigerating storehouses, fruit and vegetable packaging, and other agriculture-related industries stand out.
The place of the first settlement where General Roca was founded, near Río Negro shoreline, is known as "Old Town". Several buildings dating back to the time before the flooding and subsequent move of the town can be still visited:
In the afternoon of 20 June 2016, a series of loud blasts could be heard in General Roca, causing buildings to shake and windows to rattle, but police, firefighters and emergency workers could not find any evidence of an explosion or natural calamity. No damage was reported. Theastronomicalobservatory in nearbyNeuquén later revealed that the cause had been ameteor that burst in the atmosphere over the city, at an estimated speed of 2,400 kilometres per hour (1,500 mph). Astronomer Roberto Figueroa estimated that the meteor measured approximately 12 metres (39 ft) across and probably broke on atmospheric entry, falling mostly as ash, but some larger fragments could have reached the lower atmosphere and caused an audible boom.[2]
General Roca has asemi-arid climate with warm to hot summers, combined with cool winters. Rainfall is sparse year round, resulting in a relative arid influence of the climate, being located in theAndeanrain shadow.
| Climate data for General Roca, Río Negro (1997–2011) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 40.7 (105.3) | 37.9 (100.2) | 36.7 (98.1) | 30.9 (87.6) | 30.4 (86.7) | 24.3 (75.7) | 23.8 (74.8) | 28.2 (82.8) | 28.1 (82.6) | 32.9 (91.2) | 36.2 (97.2) | 38.2 (100.8) | 40.7 (105.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 31.3 (88.3) | 31.4 (88.5) | 26.4 (79.5) | 22.7 (72.9) | 17.1 (62.8) | 13.3 (55.9) | 12.7 (54.9) | 15.1 (59.2) | 19.5 (67.1) | 22.3 (72.1) | 27.2 (81.0) | 29.4 (84.9) | 22.4 (72.3) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 22.9 (73.2) | 22.7 (72.9) | 17.6 (63.7) | 12.9 (55.2) | 8.5 (47.3) | 7.2 (45.0) | 5.4 (41.7) | 7.7 (45.9) | 11.3 (52.3) | 14.6 (58.3) | 18.9 (66.0) | 21.2 (70.2) | 14.2 (57.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 14.3 (57.7) | 15.1 (59.2) | 9.3 (48.7) | 4.8 (40.6) | 1.4 (34.5) | 1.9 (35.4) | 0.6 (33.1) | 1.6 (34.9) | 3.0 (37.4) | 6.8 (44.2) | 10.4 (50.7) | 13.1 (55.6) | 6.8 (44.2) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 5.5 (41.9) | 3.8 (38.8) | 0.7 (33.3) | −4.4 (24.1) | −9.7 (14.5) | −9.3 (15.3) | −9.0 (15.8) | −8.9 (16.0) | −5.9 (21.4) | −2.4 (27.7) | −1.1 (30.0) | 4.6 (40.3) | −9.7 (14.5) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 20.1 (0.79) | 14.7 (0.58) | 21.3 (0.84) | 19.0 (0.75) | 18.5 (0.73) | 23.0 (0.91) | 17.4 (0.69) | 11.1 (0.44) | 25.5 (1.00) | 22.3 (0.88) | 12.1 (0.48) | 14.2 (0.56) | 206.1 (8.11) |
| Source: Departamento Provincial de Aguas[3] | |||||||||||||
| Climate data for General Roca (Alto Valle agricultural experimental station) 1990–2004, extremes 1923–1987 and 1990–2004 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 42.0 (107.6) | 40.0 (104.0) | 40.2 (104.4) | 40.0 (104.0) | 31.2 (88.2) | 29.2 (84.6) | 27.3 (81.1) | 30.9 (87.6) | 34.3 (93.7) | 39.1 (102.4) | 40.0 (104.0) | 40.5 (104.9) | 42.0 (107.6) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 30.4 (86.7) | 29.0 (84.2) | 26.3 (79.3) | 21.2 (70.2) | 16.9 (62.4) | 13.4 (56.1) | 13.5 (56.3) | 16.9 (62.4) | 19.3 (66.7) | 23.2 (73.8) | 26.2 (79.2) | 29.1 (84.4) | 22.1 (71.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 24.2 (75.6) | 22.5 (72.5) | 19.2 (66.6) | 13.8 (56.8) | 9.9 (49.8) | 7.0 (44.6) | 6.7 (44.1) | 9.1 (48.4) | 12.7 (54.9) | 17.0 (62.6) | 20.4 (68.7) | 23.2 (73.8) | 15.5 (59.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 13.1 (55.6) | 11.7 (53.1) | 9.8 (49.6) | 5.3 (41.5) | 2.5 (36.5) | 0.4 (32.7) | −0.7 (30.7) | 0.5 (32.9) | 3.4 (38.1) | 6.9 (44.4) | 9.8 (49.6) | 12.4 (54.3) | 6.3 (43.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −0.6 (30.9) | −1.7 (28.9) | −5.5 (22.1) | −7.3 (18.9) | −12.7 (9.1) | −12.6 (9.3) | −13.2 (8.2) | −12.5 (9.5) | −12.5 (9.5) | −5.0 (23.0) | −3.0 (26.6) | −2.4 (27.7) | −13.2 (8.2) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 18.6 (0.73) | 18.0 (0.71) | 25.0 (0.98) | 27.2 (1.07) | 25.9 (1.02) | 22.3 (0.88) | 16.9 (0.67) | 8.8 (0.35) | 18.8 (0.74) | 26.1 (1.03) | 21.9 (0.86) | 14.2 (0.56) | 243.7 (9.59) |
| Average precipitation days | 2.3 | 2.1 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 5.2 | 5.7 | 3.7 | 2.3 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 2.3 | 43.2 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 58 | 61 | 64 | 67 | 70 | 72 | 72 | 66 | 64 | 63 | 59 | 60 | 65 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 303.8 | 274.0 | 235.6 | 174.0 | 133.3 | 108.0 | 136.4 | 179.8 | 186.0 | 229.4 | 255.0 | 288.3 | 2,503.6 |
| Percentagepossible sunshine | 68 | 68 | 61 | 54 | 42 | 39 | 47 | 54 | 52 | 57 | 60 | 62 | 55 |
| Source:Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria[4] | |||||||||||||
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