Vallegrande Jatunquichua | |
|---|---|
Town | |
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  Vallegrande Location in Bolivia | |
| Coordinates:18°29′S64°06′W / 18.483°S 64.100°W /-18.483; -64.100 | |
| Country |  Bolivia |
| Department |  Santa Cruz Department |
| Province | Vallegrande |
| Municipality | Vallegrande |
| Canton | Vallegrande |
| Elevation | 6,660 ft (2,030 m) |
| Population (2001) | |
• Total | 6,000 |
| Time zone | UTC-4 (BOT) |
| Climate | Cwb |
Vallegrande (Spanish: "Big Valley") is a small colonial town inBolivia, located in theDepartment ofSanta Cruz, some 125 km (bee-line) southwest ofSanta Cruz de la Sierra. It is the capital of theVallegrande Province andVallegrande Municipality and serves as a regionally important market town.
The town was the first burial site of revolutionaryChe Guevara, after his 1967 execution.
The town lies in a big valley (hence the name) at an altitude of 2,030 m (6,660 ft) and has approximately 6,000 inhabitants. It has a mild temperate climate due mainly to its valley location, altitude, and the cold winter fronts the sweep the plains ofSanta Cruz known as "Surazo".
Vallegrande has asubtropical highland climate (Köppen:Cwb). Temperatures are relatively temperate annually, with high levels of diurnal temperature variation due to the altitude. Precipitation falls mainly during summer storms, while winter is marked by a drying period.
| Climate data for Vallegrande (Capitán Av. Vidal Villagomez Toledo Airport), elevation 2,030 m (6,660 ft) | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 34.5 (94.1) | 30.2 (86.4) | 28.2 (82.8) | 27.4 (81.3) | 27.5 (81.5) | 31.4 (88.5) | 28.0 (82.4) | 28.0 (82.4) | 35.5 (95.9) | 34.3 (93.7) | 31.8 (89.2) | 31.2 (88.2) | 35.5 (95.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 23.4 (74.1) | 22.8 (73.0) | 22.4 (72.3) | 21.4 (70.5) | 20.4 (68.7) | 20.3 (68.5) | 19.8 (67.6) | 21.4 (70.5) | 23.0 (73.4) | 23.7 (74.7) | 23.9 (75.0) | 23.8 (74.8) | 22.2 (71.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 18.4 (65.1) | 17.9 (64.2) | 17.7 (63.9) | 16.5 (61.7) | 14.9 (58.8) | 14.3 (57.7) | 13.4 (56.1) | 14.7 (58.5) | 16.4 (61.5) | 17.8 (64.0) | 18.3 (64.9) | 18.7 (65.7) | 16.6 (61.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 13.5 (56.3) | 13.1 (55.6) | 12.9 (55.2) | 11.6 (52.9) | 9.5 (49.1) | 8.3 (46.9) | 7.1 (44.8) | 8.0 (46.4) | 9.7 (49.5) | 11.9 (53.4) | 12.6 (54.7) | 13.6 (56.5) | 11.0 (51.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 5.5 (41.9) | 7.2 (45.0) | 4.0 (39.2) | 1.2 (34.2) | −2.0 (28.4) | −8.0 (17.6) | −5.0 (23.0) | −4.5 (23.9) | −1.5 (29.3) | −0.4 (31.3) | 3.1 (37.6) | 5.3 (41.5) | −8.0 (17.6) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 154.7 (6.09) | 119.4 (4.70) | 84.6 (3.33) | 37.3 (1.47) | 16.9 (0.67) | 10.8 (0.43) | 9.8 (0.39) | 12.0 (0.47) | 20.1 (0.79) | 45.6 (1.80) | 70.0 (2.76) | 108 (4.3) | 689.2 (27.2) |
| Average precipitation days | 12.0 | 10.4 | 9.0 | 6.8 | 5.1 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 3.0 | 6.2 | 6.4 | 9.4 | 77.3 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 73.2 | 75.5 | 74.8 | 76.0 | 74.7 | 73.3 | 69.5 | 65.6 | 63.0 | 67.0 | 68.5 | 70.9 | 71.0 |
| Source: Servicio Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología de Bolivia[1][2] | |||||||||||||
The main industries in the area revolve around agriculture and its derived products. The region is mainly dedicated to the production of grains such as corn and wheat, and fruits such as peaches, apples, grapes, pears, chirimoyas and plums. Among the value added products the most important are homemade bread,chamas, fruit liquor, wine, handmade rugs, and other handcrafts.
Vallegrande can be accessed via a spur road branching off the (old, southern)Santa Cruz toCochabamba highway and has an airstrip off Av Circunvalación 2do Anillo.
On October 8, 1967, theArgentineMarxist revolutionaryChe Guevara was captured by theCIA-assistedBolivian Army nearbyLa Higuera, where he was killed the next day. The body was buried in Vallegrande, on an airstrip near Av. Circunvalación 2do Anillo, and was returned toCuba in October 1997, where he was buried ina mausoleum inSanta Clara. A "Che Guevara Mausoleum" is located in Vallegrande on the former burial site and can be visited by tourists.[3][4][5][6]
Important Bolivian politician in the decades of the 1960s and 2000s, he was named illustrious son of Vallegrande.
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