Caleta Olivia

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Caleta Olivia
Basic data
location 46 ° 26 ′  S , 67 ° 31 ′  W Coordinates: 46 ° 26 ′  S , 67 ° 31 ′  W
Population (2013): 63,974
  (Argentina)
 
 
administration
Province : Santa CruzSanta Cruz Santa Cruz
Department : Deseado
Structure: 43 barrios
Mayor: Facundo Prades (Cambiemos)
Others
Postal code : Z9011
Telephone code: 0297
Caleta Olivia's website

Caleta Olivia is a city in southern Argentina , in the far north of the province of Santa Cruz . The city is located on a bay of the Golfo San Jorge on the Atlantic coast of Patagonia and today has about 37,000 inhabitants. This makes it the second largest city in the province and the most populous in the Deseado department . Due to its location near the border with the province of Chubut (50 km), it is practically the gateway to the province of Santa Cruz.

population

The main internal migration flows reached Caleta Olivia from the provinces of Catamarca , La Rioja and Salta . In 1973, a census showed that 70 percent of the population were descendants of Catamarqueños. Migration from the north-west of the country began in the 1950s, 25 years before the first migrants from the north settled in Comodoro Rivadavia . The reasons for the migration lay in the discovery of an oil field that promised jobs that were not available in their homeland in the northwest of the country. Much of the culture of the northwest was preserved by the new residents of Patagonia, such as the care of a house garden for their own use, the worship of the Virgen del Valle and the musical folklore of the northwest. The main external flows of migrants came from Spain and Italy . Although they did not match the numerical strength of migration from the Northwest, they achieved a significant impact through their social and commercial activities.

history

Caleta Olivia was founded on November 20, 1901 by the captain of the steamship Guardia Nacional , Guttero . He discovered a small bay which he named after his wife Oliva. This happened at the time of the construction of the telegraph line to Comodoro Rivadavia. Guttero was busy transporting masts and cables by ship. Caleta Olivia was developing very slowly. In 1947, according to the census at that time, the small town had 161 inhabitants. From 1947 to 1991 the population rose to 27,896.

economy

The dominant industry in Caleta Olivia is oil production , which began in 1944 with the discovery of a high-yield oil field and gave the city a rapid population increase at the end of the 20th century. Many immigrants from the northern provinces of Argentina and Chile changed the cultural image of the previously European city.

Worth seeing

  • El Gorosito . The huge monument El Gorosito shows a worker turning on the oil tap and thus testifies to the importance of this branch of industry for the city. His northward gaze reminds the rest of the country of Patagonia's contribution to the welfare of Argentina through its oil wells. The monument was made after 1958 by the sculptor Pablo Daniel Sánchez and the topographer José Cifuentes.
  • Museo del Hombre y su entorno . The museum shows the life context of the native American Indians and the subsequent colonizers. The collection shows bows and arrows, knives, a replica of an old apartment with its furnishings and photos of the first colonizers in Caleta Olivia; also a collection of diaries since 1982.
  • Mirador de la Ciudad (2 km northeast of the city center). Lookout point with panoramic views over the city up to Comodoro Rivadavia.
  • La Lobería (about 35 km north of the city on the Ruta Nacional 3 ). Seal slaughterhouse from the 1930s, where seals and whales were gutted to get their oil.

Web links