Encarnación, Paraguay
| Encarnación Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación de Itapúa | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| City | |||
|
Encarnacion Skyline | |||
| |||
  Encarnación | |||
| Coordinates: 27°19′48″S 55°52′48″W / 27.33000°S 55.88000°W | |||
| Country |
 Paraguay | ||
| Department | Itapúa | ||
| Founded | March 25, 1615 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Intendant | Joel Maidana | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 558 km2 (215 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 91 m (299 ft) | ||
| Population (2002) | |||
| • Total | 93,497 (2,002 census) | ||
| • Density | 249/km2 (640/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | AST (UTC-04) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | ADT (UTC-03) | ||
| Area code(s) | +595 71 | ||
| Climate | Cfa | ||
| Website | www.encarnacion.gov.py | ||
Encarnación (Spanish pronunciation: [eŋkarnaˈsjon]) is the capital city of the Paraguayan department of Itapúa, located at the south-east of the department, on the right-hand (western) shore of the Paraná River, opposite Posadas, Argentina. The city has an area of 558 km² and a population of 93,497 (2002 Census). Encarnación is the third-largest city of Paraguay.
Encarnación is connected to the Argentine city of Posadas by the San Roque González de Santa Cruz Bridge. The city is located on Route 1, some 370 km (225 miles) from Asunción, and located on Route 6, some 280 km (175 miles) from Ciudad del Este.
The Teniente Amin Ayub Gonzalez Airport (IATA: ENO, ICAO: SGEN), at coordinates 27°13′23″S 55°50′03″W, is 12 kilometres from the city, is the third most important airport of the country.
Demography
Encarnación is the capital of the department of Itapúa and has a total population of 93,497 and an urban population of 67,173 according to the 2002 National Census.[1]
Most of the inhabitants are of mixed Spanish and Amerindian descent as in the rest of Paraguay but there are also minorities of Germans, Ukrainians and Poles. In fact this is the largest settlement of Ukrainians in Paraguay.
History
The mission called Anunciación de Itapua was founded by the Paraguayan Jesuit San Roque González de Santa Cruz on March 25, 1615 on the southern side of the Paraná river.[2] That mission was relocated to the north side in the current location of the city in 1703 under the name Encarncación de Itapua. It gained in importance after the coming of the railway in 1854.
In 1957, the city was made the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Encarnación.
Because of its mild climate Encarnación is often called "The Pearl of the South". Encarnación was the birthplace of Alfredo Stroessner, general and head of state of Paraguay from 1954 to 1989.
Lately, the city experienced a radical change, with the loss of the "Zona Baja" because the "Plan de Terminación Yacyretá" (Termination plan of Yacyretá) giving way to a renewed modern city with wide avenues, bridges, etc. .
Tourism
Lately Encarnación has become the tourism capital of the country, with its wide beaches and newly completed waterfront boardwalk attracting more than 300,000 people each summer.
It is also the Carnival Capital of Paraguay, a yearly celebration of mostly Brazilian music and dance in February generally.
The city is located near the Jesús and Trinidad Jesuit Ruins, declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1993.
Climate
Encarnación has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa). The summers are very hot and humid, and winters are temperate and cool. Due to its geographical position in the extreme south of the country Encarnación is the coldest city in Paraguay.
Encarnación registered snowfall in the winter of 1975, the first time in the history of Paraguay.
The annual mean temperature is 21 °C (70 °F). The annual mean relative humidity is 77%.
| Climate data for Encarnación, Paraguay | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 40.5 (104.9) |
39.4 (102.9) |
39.3 (102.7) |
35.4 (95.7) |
34.0 (93.2) |
31.6 (88.9) |
32.4 (90.3) |
34.8 (94.6) |
36.6 (97.9) |
38.0 (100.4) |
40.4 (104.7) |
42.0 (107.6) |
42.0 (107.6) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 31.2 (88.2) |
30.6 (87.1) |
29.2 (84.6) |
25.9 (78.6) |
23.2 (73.8) |
20.9 (69.6) |
21.4 (70.5) |
22.5 (72.5) |
23.9 (75) |
26.5 (79.7) |
28.4 (83.1) |
30.5 (86.9) |
26.2 (79.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 25.5 (77.9) |
24.9 (76.8) |
23.4 (74.1) |
20.0 (68) |
17.3 (63.1) |
15.2 (59.4) |
15.5 (59.9) |
16.6 (61.9) |
18.1 (64.6) |
20.6 (69.1) |
22.7 (72.9) |
24.8 (76.6) |
20.4 (68.7) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 19.4 (66.9) |
19.5 (67.1) |
17.9 (64.2) |
14.3 (57.7) |
11.7 (53.1) |
9.9 (49.8) |
10.2 (50.4) |
10.8 (51.4) |
12.3 (54.1) |
14.3 (57.7) |
16.3 (61.3) |
18.3 (64.9) |
14.6 (58.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 9.3 (48.7) |
7.0 (44.6) |
5.4 (41.7) |
2.4 (36.3) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
−3.8 (25.2) |
−3.8 (25.2) |
−2.8 (27) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
1.6 (34.9) |
4.8 (40.6) |
7.0 (44.6) |
−3.8 (25.2) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 152.2 (5.992) |
160.6 (6.323) |
142.4 (5.606) |
162.2 (6.386) |
144.2 (5.677) |
135.8 (5.346) |
102.7 (4.043) |
116.9 (4.602) |
149.5 (5.886) |
181.7 (7.154) |
161.5 (6.358) |
150.0 (5.906) |
1,759.7 (69.28) |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 98 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 69 | 74 | 75 | 77 | 79 | 78 | 76 | 74 | 72 | 70 | 69 | 67 | 73 |
| Source: NOAA[3] | |||||||||||||
References
- ↑ Atlas Censal del Paraguay - Itapúa, 2002.
- ↑ Gonzalez Torres, Dionisio (2010). Origen e Hisoria de lo pueblos del Paraguay. Asuncion, Paraguay: Servilibro.
- ↑ "Encarnación Climate Normals 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
External links
- Carnival in Encarnacion Official site
- World Gazeteer: Paraguay – World-Gazetteer.com
- multimedia in youtube
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Coordinates: 27°20′S 55°54′W / 27.333°S 55.900°W
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