Perito Moreno
Town
ProvinceSanta Cruz
DepartmentLago Buenos Aires
IntendantMatías Emanuel Treppo (SER Santa Cruz)
Population total7812
Coordinates46°35′19″S 70°55′27″W
Elevation517 m
Area code+54
ClimateBWk
Time zoneART (UTC−3)

Perito Moreno is a town in the northwest of Santa Cruz Province, Argentina, 25 km east of Lake Buenos Aires. It should not be confused with the Perito Moreno National Park over 300 km south by road, or the Perito Moreno Glacier near El Calafate. The town is the capital of the Lago Buenos Aires Department. It lies on the RN43, a paved road which links Caleta Olivia on the Atlantic coast to Los Antiguos and the Chilean frontier 60 km west, and Ruta 40, running north and south.

The town is a centre of cattle ranches and smallholdings producing fruit and vegetables. Tourism is also an important industry. Perito Moreno is the closest town to Cueva de las Manos, 170 km south by road, and Parque Laguna.

In the 2022 census the town had a population of 7,812.[1]

History

The town was founded in 1910, as a rest stop for travellers by the springs which give rise to the Rio Deseado. The place was called Pari-Aike (meaning "place of reeds") by the Tehuelche, but the town was officially called Nacimiento in 1927. The name was changed in 1944 to Lago Buenos Aires, and in 1952 to Perito Moreno, after the explorer Francisco Moreno.[a][2]

Geography

The town is located the northwest of Santa Cruz Province, 25 km east of Lake Buenos Aires.

Climate

Perito Moreno has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification: BSk), bordering on a cold desert climate (Köppen climate classification: BWk).

Buildings

The town is home to the Carlos J. Gradin Museum of Archaeology, named after Carlos J. Gradin.[3][4][5][6][7] As of 2019, the building is still under construction.[8]

Culture

Perito Moreno is widely considered the archaeological capitol of Santa Cruz, largely due to how close it is to Cueva de las Manos.[9] Every year in February, the town celebrates a festival of Cueva de las Manos.[9][10][11]

See also

References

  1. ^ Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos de la Republica Argentine, Census of 16 May 2022.
  2. ^ Moore, Jerry D. (2017). Incidence of travel: recent journeys in ancient South America. Boulder: University Press of Colorado. p. 95. doi:10.5876/9781607326007. ISBN 978-1-60732-600-7. JSTOR j.ctt1m3210q. LCCN 2016053403. OCLC 973325343
  3. ^ Onetto, María & Podestá, María Mercedes (2011). "Cueva de las Manos: An Outstanding Example of a Rock Art Site in South America". Adoranten. Scandinavian Society for Prehistoric Art.
  4. ^ Onetto, Maria (2014), "Cueva de las Manos, Río Pinturas Cave Art", Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, Smith, Claire (ed.), New York, NY: Springer, p. 1845, doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_1624. ISBN 978-1-4419-0465-2, retrieved 2021-04-22
  5. ^ INAPL (2011). En tus manos... Cueva de las manos (in Spanish). Grupo de Apoyo.[dead link]
  6. ^ "Proyecto". www.diputados.gob.ar. Retrieved 2021-05-01.
  7. ^ "Cueva de las Manos: un viaje para reencontrarse con los antiguos pobladores patagónicos" (in es-AR). Fondo Nacional de las Artes. Retrieved 2021-05-01.
  8. ^ Gutiérrez De Angelis, Marina; Winckler, Greta; Bruno, Paula; Guarini, Carmen (2019). "Rethinking Paleolithic Visual Culture throughout immersive technology: The site "Cueva de las Manos" as a virtual "Denkraum" (Patagonia, Argentina)". View. Theories and Practices of Visual Culture. ' (25). Widok. Foundation for Visual Culture. doi:10.36854/widok/2019.25.2081. hdl:11336/168949. ISSN 2300-200X. S2CID 229288678
  9. ^ Podestá, María Mercedes (2002). "Cueva de las Manos as an example of cultural-natural heritage hybrids". Nature and Culture: Ambivalent Dimensions of our Heritage Change of Perspective. Gauer-Lietz, Sieglinde (ed.). Bonn, Germany. p. 127. ISBN 3-927907-84-7.
  10. ^ Onetto, María & Podestá, María Mercedes (2011). "Cueva de las Manos: An Outstanding Example of a Rock Art Site in South America". Adoranten. Scandinavian Society for Prehistoric Art.
  11. ^ Menon, Jayashree (ed.) (January 1, 2010). "Patagonia". Argentina. Eyewitness Travel Guides. Rev. ed. New York, NY: DK Publishing. p. 242. ISBN 978-0-7566-6193-9. ISSN 1542-1554. OCLC 741938981

Notes

  1. ^ The term perito is an honorific that means "expert"