Minas (Uruguay)

Minas
Coordinates: 34 ° 23 ′ S , 55 ° 14 ′ W Minas on the map of Uruguay	Minas
	Minas
Basic data
Country	Uruguay
Department	Lavalleja
Residents	38,446 (2011)
	City insignia
Detailed data
height	140 m
Post Code	30000
prefix	+044
Website	Ciudad de Minas
	Artigas statue in Parque Artigas

Minas is the capital of the Lavalleja Department in Uruguay .

geography

Location and landscape

The city is enclosed in a valley, northeast of Montevideo, 122 km away. Nearby is the 305 meter high Cerro Arequita . About 20 km northeast of Minas is the Parque Salto del Penitente . Settlements in the vicinity of Minas are Campanero to the north, Barrio La Coronilla to the southwest, San Francisco de las Sierras to the southeast and the slightly more distant Villa Serrana in the east-northeast and Estación Solís in the west. The Arroyo San Francisco , into which the Arroyo La Plata flows there , runs through the city on the southern or western edge .

Natural resources

Gold deposits exist around five kilometers east of Minas . The Mina Arrospide gold mine is located there .

Residents

The city has 38,446 inhabitants (as of 2011), of which 18,289 are male and 20,157 are female.

year	Residents
1853	1.925
1963	31,805
1975	35,225
1985	34,658
1996	37,146
2004	37,925
2011	38,446

Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística de Uruguay

origin of the name

There are many mines and tunnels in the vicinity of the city, from which the name "Minas" can be traced back.

history

The city was founded in 1783 when 152 settlers from Asturias and Galicia settled here. The city is famous for its cultural heritage.

In 1960 the Diocese of Minas was established. The episcopal church of the diocese is the Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepción , which was inaugurated in 1892.

Infrastructure

traffic

Minas is on Ruta 8 . In addition, a railway line from Montevideo ends in Minas . The AFE currently only operates the route for freight traffic , but the citizens of Minas have already collected signatures for an extension of the passenger traffic , which was discontinued in 1988, from the current terminus Sudriers to Minas.

View of the Salto del Penitente

education

Minas is home to several educational institutions, such as the Liceo Nº 2 Molino Viejo , the Colegio y Liceo San José or the Escuela Nº 102 .

Attractions

In Minas, on Cerro Artigas, there is the world's largest horse statue in memory of General José Gervasio Artigas .

In the vicinity of Minas, 24 kilometers to the east, there is the 60 meter high Salto del Penitente waterfall , a popular excursion destination with tourist infrastructure in the nature park of the same name.