Villamontes
Encyclopedia
Villamontes is a town in the Tarija Department
in south-eastern Bolivia
.
-Foreland.
Villamontes is located in the subhumid tropical
zone, with a distinct dry season
from June to September.
West of the town in a north-southerly direction ranges the sub Andean
Sierra del Aguarague, with a summit of 1,390 m 7 km west of Villamontes.
The town is crossed by Río Caiguami which discharges into Río Pilcomayo on the southern outskirts of Villamontes.
between Bolivia and Paraguay
(1932–1935) Villamontes accommodated the headquarters of the Bolivian Army. During the final stage of the war, the main lines of defense commanded by General Bernardino Bilbao Rioja
were situated here.
Villamontes became famous by the so-called "Corralito de Villamontes" (1934), when the head of state, Dr. Daniel Salamanca Urey
, was arrested by army units during his stay at Villamontes, and on 28 November 1934 was substituted in a coup d'état
by vice president José Luis Tejada Sorzano
.
), 16,214 inhabitants in 2001 (census), and has more than 20,000 inhabitants by 2007.
Reason for the explosive increase has been the deployment of oil
and gas
fields in this region since the early 1990s.
Tarija Department
Tarija is a department in Bolivia. It is located in south-eastern Bolivia bordering Argentina to the south and Paraguay to the east. According to the 2001 census, it has a population of 391,226 inhabitants. It has an area of 37.623 km²...
in south-eastern Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
.
Location
Villamontes is the administrative center of Villamontes Municipio and situated at 21°15′39"S 63°28′34"W, 390 m above sea level, on the left bank of Río Pilcomayo where the river crosses the Sierra del Aguarague mountain range and flows southeast into the ChacoGran Chaco
The Gran Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semi-arid lowland region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, northern Argentina and a portion of the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, where it is connected with the Pantanal region...
-Foreland.
Geography
| Climate Data (1993–2006) | Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temperature (°C) | 25.0° | 29.0° | 27.8° | 26.8° | 23.6° | 20.9° | 19.6° | 19.4° | 22.4° | 24.9° | 28.2° | 28.3° | 28.9° | ||
| Precipitation (mm) | 814 | 129 | 113 | 101 | 72 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 54 | 116 | 183 |
Villamontes is located in the subhumid tropical
Tropics
The tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...
zone, with a distinct dry season
Dry season
The dry season is a term commonly used when describing the weather in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which oscillates from the northern to the southern tropics over the course of the year...
from June to September.
West of the town in a north-southerly direction ranges the sub Andean
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
Sierra del Aguarague, with a summit of 1,390 m 7 km west of Villamontes.
The town is crossed by Río Caiguami which discharges into Río Pilcomayo on the southern outskirts of Villamontes.
History
During the Chaco WarChaco War
The Chaco War was fought between Bolivia and Paraguay over control of the northern part of the Gran Chaco region of South America, which was incorrectly thought to be rich in oil. It is also referred to as La Guerra de la Sed in literary circles for being fought in the semi-arid Chaco...
between Bolivia and Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
(1932–1935) Villamontes accommodated the headquarters of the Bolivian Army. During the final stage of the war, the main lines of defense commanded by General Bernardino Bilbao Rioja
Bernardino Bilbao Rioja
Bernardino Bilbao Rioja was a Bolivian officer who served during the Chaco War . He pioneered the use of air forces in combat ....
were situated here.
Villamontes became famous by the so-called "Corralito de Villamontes" (1934), when the head of state, Dr. Daniel Salamanca Urey
Daniel Salamanca Urey
Daniel Domingo Salamanca Urey was President of Bolivia from March 5, 1931 until he was overthrown in a coup d'état on November 27, 1934, during the country's disastrous Chaco War with Paraguay.-Political career:...
, was arrested by army units during his stay at Villamontes, and on 28 November 1934 was substituted in a coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
by vice president José Luis Tejada Sorzano
José Luis Tejada Sorzano
José Luis Tejada Sorzano was a Bolivian lawyer and politician appointed by the military as president of Bolivia during the Chaco War...
.
Population
Villamontes had a population of 11,086 inhabitants in 1992 (censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
), 16,214 inhabitants in 2001 (census), and has more than 20,000 inhabitants by 2007.
Reason for the explosive increase has been the deployment of oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
and gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
fields in this region since the early 1990s.