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Geographical Situation and Climate
La "República Oriental del Uruguay" (the Eastern Republic of Uruguay, here in after referred to as Uruguay) owes its name to its location East of the Uruguay River. It is because of this geographical location, and for certain historical reasons (see history-page), that Uruguayans used to be called -and still are at times- "Oriental" although Uruguay obviously belongs to the Western Hemisphere. The word "Uruguay" itself comes from the Guarani language and can be translated as "the river of the beautifully colored birds".
The Republic of Uruguay lies in the Western Hemisphere between longitudes 53 and 58, and in the subtropical zone between latitudes 30 and 35 South.
Geographically, Uruguay lies in the Southern sub-tropical zone of the South American continent; its territory extends over the Western part of the Atlantic coast.
Geographical location Uruguay
Topographically, it is located in the area of transition between the Brazilian plateaux and the plains of the Pampas.
The Northern and North-Eastern frontiers separating Uruguay from Brazil follow natural mountain topography. Uruguay is separated from Argentina by the Rio de la Plata in the South and by the Rio Uruguay in the West. The Eastern frontier is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean.
Uruguay covers 176,215 square kilometers, which may not seem a large area compared with the size of its two big neighbors. Nevertheless, Uruguay is larger than Cuba, Guatemala, Nicaragua or Costa Rica among American countries, and larger than Greece, Portugal, Austria or Ireland, among the countries of Europe. It could contain within its frontiers Holland, Belgium, Switzerland and Denmark combined, and there would still be plenty of space left. The Uruguayan territory is divided into 19 Departments, with Montevideo as its capital. In addition to this land area, there are 125,057 square kilometers of jurisdictional waters represented by the great rivers and frontier lakes.
The territory of Uruguay features gently sloping hills and elevations of modest altitude, separated by rivers which flow down to the sea or into other and larger rivers. There are no high mountains or vast plains, no impenetrable forests or desert regions. Earthquakes are unknown. The highest point is the Cerro Catedral, altitude 513 meters. The coastal plain boasts many beaches along the shores of the Rio de la Plata and the Atlantic coast .
The climate is temperate throughout the country; there are no regional variations. Average temperatures are 17 degrees C in spring, 25 degrees C in summer, 18 degrees C in autumn, and 12 degrees C in winter. Maximum temperatures may exceptionally attain 40 degrees C in summer, and minimum temperatures -2 degrees C or -3 degrees C in winter. Snowstorms and hurricanes are (almost) unknown.
Climate Montevideo - Uruguay (South of Uruguay)
