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Sarmiento
In the petrified forest
In the petrified forest
Sarmiento is located in Argentina
Sarmiento
Sarmiento
Location in Argentina
Country  Argentina
Province  Chubut
Department Sarmiento
Population
 • Total 8,292
Time zone UTC−3 (ART)
CPA base
U9020
Dialing code +54 297

Sarmiento is a town in the Chubut province of Argentina. About 8,000 people live there. It is the main town of the Sarmiento department. The town is located in a green valley in Patagonia, which is usually a very dry area. It is about 140 kilometers west of Comodoro Rivadavia. Sarmiento sits between two lakes, Lake Musters and Lake Colhue Huapi. Fun places to visit include the Petrified Forest and caves with ancient hand paintings by Aborigine people.

History of Sarmiento

Sarmiento began as a place for immigrants to settle. Many people came from Wales (this settlement was called y Wladfa). In the early 1900s, people also came from Lithuania.

In 1900, Oscar Lundqwist, a former sailor from Sweden, set up the first police station in Sarmiento. This was an important step in establishing Argentine authority in the area.

In 1903, about 600 families from South Africa, called Afrikaners, moved to Argentina. They settled in Sarmiento because it had good access to water. This was different from the coastal city of Comodoro Rivadavia, where they first arrived. Many people in Sarmiento today are descendants of these settlers. Some still speak Afrikaans and go to the Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk (Dutch Reformed Church). In the 1960s, Afrikaans was the most common language. However, over time, the Afrikaner community has become more a part of Argentine culture.

In 2016, an important dinosaur fossil was found near the town. This dinosaur was named Sarmientosaurus musacchio. It was named after the town and a paleontologist (a scientist who studies fossils) named Dr. Eduardo Musacchio.

Sarmiento's Climate

Sarmiento has a cold desert climate. This means it has warm summers and cool winters. It is also very dry. The coldest temperature ever recorded at a low elevation in South America was in Sarmiento. On June 1, 1907, it was -32.8 degrees Celsius (about -27 degrees Fahrenheit). Not much rain falls here, only about 183 millimeters (7 inches) each year.

Climate data for Sarmiento, Chubut (1941–1950)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 37.6
(99.7)
36.7
(98.1)
33.4
(92.1)
26.8
(80.2)
22.0
(71.6)
20.0
(68.0)
16.5
(61.7)
19.7
(67.5)
23.3
(73.9)
29.0
(84.2)
32.0
(89.6)
35.8
(96.4)
37.6
(99.7)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 25.3
(77.5)
24.4
(75.9)
21.5
(70.7)
17.3
(63.1)
12.0
(53.6)
9.0
(48.2)
8.8
(47.8)
10.4
(50.7)
14.2
(57.6)
18.8
(65.8)
21.2
(70.2)
23.8
(74.8)
17.2
(63.0)
Daily mean °C (°F) 17.8
(64.0)
16.8
(62.2)
14.2
(57.6)
11.0
(51.8)
7.3
(45.1)
4.7
(40.5)
4.1
(39.4)
5.0
(41.0)
8.1
(46.6)
12.0
(53.6)
14.1
(57.4)
16.4
(61.5)
11.0
(51.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 11.6
(52.9)
10.8
(51.4)
8.8
(47.8)
5.9
(42.6)
3.2
(37.8)
1.0
(33.8)
0.2
(32.4)
0.6
(33.1)
3.1
(37.6)
6.4
(43.5)
8.4
(47.1)
10.5
(50.9)
5.9
(42.6)
Record low °C (°F) 1.5
(34.7)
1.5
(34.7)
−2.0
(28.4)
−5.8
(21.6)
−12.4
(9.7)
−32.8
(−27.0)
−18.6
(−1.5)
−10.7
(12.7)
−6.9
(19.6)
−3.8
(25.2)
−1.0
(30.2)
2.2
(36.0)
−32.8
(−27.0)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 12
(0.5)
11
(0.4)
19
(0.7)
15
(0.6)
28
(1.1)
14
(0.6)
24
(0.9)
14
(0.6)
14
(0.6)
5
(0.2)
18
(0.7)
9
(0.4)
183
(7.2)
Average relative humidity (%) 42 43 47 56 65 71 69 61 52 44 41 38 52
Mean monthly sunshine hours 270 232 214 171 133 99 121 171 183 226 234 260 2,314
Source 1: Sistema de Clasificación Bioclimática Mundial, World Meteorological Organization (June record low only)
Source 2: Danish Meteorological Institute (sun and relative humidity)
Climate data for Sarmiento Aeroclub (1993–2013)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 38.0
(100.4)
37.0
(98.6)
36.0
(96.8)
31.0
(87.8)
23.0
(73.4)
19.0
(66.2)
18.5
(65.3)
19.0
(66.2)
27.0
(80.6)
30.0
(86.0)
34.0
(93.2)
35.0
(95.0)
38.0
(100.4)
Mean maximum °C (°F) 32.4
(90.3)
32.6
(90.7)
29.4
(84.9)
24.5
(76.1)
19.8
(67.6)
14.6
(58.3)
15.0
(59.0)
16.5
(61.7)
20.7
(69.3)
24.8
(76.6)
28.1
(82.6)
30.9
(87.6)
34.7
(94.5)
Daily mean °C (°F) 18.9
(66.0)
18.1
(64.6)
15.1
(59.2)
11.4
(52.5)
7.5
(45.5)
4.1
(39.4)
3.7
(38.7)
5.7
(42.3)
8.8
(47.8)
12.3
(54.1)
14.8
(58.6)
17.7
(63.9)
11.5
(52.7)
Mean minimum °C (°F) 6.7
(44.1)
5.5
(41.9)
2.8
(37.0)
−0.2
(31.6)
−4.8
(23.4)
−6.3
(20.7)
−8.2
(17.2)
−5.3
(22.5)
−2.9
(26.8)
0.7
(33.3)
3.4
(38.1)
5.6
(42.1)
−9.3
(15.3)
Record low °C (°F) 4.0
(39.2)
0.0
(32.0)
0.0
(32.0)
−3.5
(25.7)
−11.0
(12.2)
−12.5
(9.5)
−19.0
(−2.2)
−9.0
(15.8)
−6.5
(20.3)
−3.0
(26.6)
0.0
(32.0)
3.0
(37.4)
−19.0
(−2.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 6.6
(0.26)
10.6
(0.42)
15.2
(0.60)
11.8
(0.46)
24.9
(0.98)
23.0
(0.91)
14.4
(0.57)
16.4
(0.65)
13.9
(0.55)
11.0
(0.43)
10.4
(0.41)
5.5
(0.22)
163.7
(6.44)
Source: Ministerio del Interior, Obras Públicas y Vivienda

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Sarmiento (Chubut) para niños

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