Fuerte Olimpo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fuerte Olimpo is a city in Paraguay. It is the capital of the department of Alto Paraguay.
| Fuerte Olimpo | |
  Fuerte Olimpo
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Established | |
| Government | |
| - Mayor | Intendente municipal |
| Elevation | 64 m (210 ft) |
| Population | |
| - Total | 4,498 |
| Time zone | -4 Gmt (UTC) |
Capital of Alto Paraguay Region, far from Asunción 838 km, located on Paraguay River, originally called Puerto Bordón. The city is also known as “la puerta de entrada al Pantanal”, entrance to Pantanal. Fuerte Olimpo is on east of Chaco Boreal on east shore of Paraguay River near the mouth of Blanco River, to the north the moist ground called humedales from the Gran Pantanal. Fuerte Olimpo is far away from the flood. The city is surrounded by a big wall 4 km long.
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[edit] Geography
This plain is almost 300 metres above the sea level. Soil is good for farming and cattle rising. Laguna Capitán is a lagoon in Fuerte Olimpo. Fuerte Olimpo is between two hills, in one is Fuerte Bordón and in the other one is Maria Auxiliadora Cathedral. The hill 3 hermanos are elevations of the region, on top of the middle cerro palms of karanday can be seen and also the moist ground of the Pantanal Nabileque and Sierra de Bordón in Brazil.
[edit] Weather
The weather is tropical, temperatura is around 45°C in summer, and the minimum 9°C in winter. The average is 25°C. Long droughts followed by strong rains are important characteristics of the region.
[edit] Demography
Fuerte Olimpo is a city with 4998 inhabitants, 2585 men and 2413 women, according to the Census.
[edit] History
The city was founded by Spain in 1792 named Fuerte Borbón by the Governor Joaquín Alos y Bru, who sent the Commandant José Antonio de Zavala y Delgadillo, to protct the area from the Virreinato del Río de la Plata from the bandeirantes from Brazil. The first settlement was between the Brazilian Forte Porto Carrero and Fecho dos Morros. Caciques Mbayaes were invited for the foundation. During José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia government it was called Fuerte Olimpo, maybe because of the main Cerro which represented the Mont Olimpo from the Antigüedad Clásica, at that time Paraguayan sovereignty established a free port for Brazilian trading. At the beginning of Triple Alianza War it was a very important offensive spot in the Mato Grosso, in 1866 Fuerte Olimpo was a strategic place too but it was taken by Brazilians when camping ended, when it happened Argentina wanted to own from Fuerte Olimpo to Chaco Boreal until the Bahía Negra, but when Brazil left Paraguay, Argentina did not claimed for it. After the 70's the area belonged to large landowners who chopped the quebrechales having native people work as slaves, that period was called tannin cycle, it was the beginning of some industries, forests were destroyed and the place was used for cattle raising good for the kind of weather. Another important aspect was the industries of tejas, palm and bricks. So Fuerte Olimpo became a port for exportation. During Chaco war in the 30's Fuerte Olimpo was again an important place for offensive strategies. It was declared the business center of Alto Paraná Region.
[edit] Economy
It incluyes some ports : •14 de Mayo •Esperanza •Leda •Lida •Maria Elena The main activity is cattle rising.
[edit] Transportation
Boats and canoes are the main important jeans of transportation to get to Fuerte Olimpo. People travel in Aquidabán Launch, which goes from Concepción to Bahía Negra. Another way to go there is going Route IX “Transchaco” to “Cruce Pioneros”, in km. 409, there is a no paved route to get Fuerte Olimpo. You can also get to Loma Plata, in km 444 and there is a no paved route until km. 333. There is also a landing runway for small planes.
[edit] Tourism
•Fuerte Borbón, from 1792. Built from rocks on one of the Cerros of Olimpo. •María Auxiliadora Cathedral, on top of another cerro, built from rocks. •An observatory: the three cerros of Fuerte Olimpo: called "Tres Hermanos". •A museum and native tribe called Ishir “Virgen Santísima”, which incluyes presentation of some craftmanship and the Chaman welcome. You can also ride some motor launches on the Paraguay River to enjoy the wonderful flora and fauna of the region. There are some tourist guides.
[edit] Bibliography and references
Geografía Ilustrada del Paraguay, Distribuidora Arami SRL; 2007. ISBN 99925-68-04-6 Geografía del Paraguay, Primera Edición 1999, Editorial Hispana Paraguay SRL
[edit] External links
- Secretaria Nacional de Turismo
- Dirección General de Encuestas, Estadísticas y Censos
- Correo Nacional Paraguayo
- Coordenadas Geográficas e Imágenes Satelitales: Fuerte Olimpo
