Cabo Polonio

Cabo Polonio
Hamlet

"Ranchos del Cabo" in Cabo Polonio
Cabo Polonio

Location in Uruguay

Coordinates: 34°23′51″S 53°47′21″W / 34.39750°S 53.78917°WCoordinates: 34°23′51″S 53°47′21″W / 34.39750°S 53.78917°W
Country Uruguay
Department Rocha Department
Population (2011)
 • Total 95
Time zone UTC -3
Postal code 27202
Area code(s) +598 4475
Sand dunes near Cabo Polonio

Cabo Polonio is a caserío (hamlet) located in the eastern coast of Uruguay in the Rocha Department.

Cabo Polonio has no roads leading to it and is located about 7 km from the main highway. It is accessible by walking through the dunes or by 4x4 vehicles. The region has no electricity or running water for the few hundred houses of this town, and wind power and a few generators are used to power some of the posadas and grocery store. There is a lighthouse that gets power from the national grid. Residents obtain water from nearby water wells or collecting rain water.

Population

According to the 2011 census, it had a population of 95 inhabitants.[1]

Year Population
1963 58
1975 36
1985 53
1996 103
2004 72
2011 95

Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística de Uruguay[2][3]

Features

Cabo Polonio sits on the tip of a moon-sliver shaped peninsula that extends into the Atlantic Ocean. The back side experiences relentless powerful waves, and on the inside of the moon-shaped area, the water comes calmly to shore. At the top end, a lighthouse stands over boulders tumbling into the sea. Two small, rocky islands dot the coast nearby.

This village principal attraction is the Atlantic beach, with water and sand, a natural reserve of sea lions and one of the area's few mobile sand dunes, in which the sand is blown by the wind and moves around the sandy places and the dunes actually change their position. The village land is shared by the Uruguayan government and private owners. The government has included the area into the SNAP (Sistema Nacional de Áreas Protegidas) National System of Protected Areas.

References

  1. ↑ "Censos 2011 Rocha (needs flash plugin)". INE. 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  2. ↑ "1963–1996 Statistics / C" (DOC). Instituto Nacional de Estadística de Uruguay. 2004. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  3. ↑ "2011 Census results". Instituto Nacional de Estadística de Uruguay. 2012.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cabo Polonio.