Uruguay

How is the land laid out?

In the south is a continuation of the pampas, grassy plains. They rise toward the northeast with an alternation of low and high land: low at the Uruguay River, the Negro¹ and near the coast; high at the Cuchilla² de Haedo and Cuchilla Grande.³ The largest natural lake is Laguna (Lagoon) Marín (Merim in Portuguese) near the coast and straddling the Brazilian boundary.

Map

Who lives there?

More than 19 in 20 speak Spanish and are of a Roman Catholic Christian background, although many are non-observant.

Montevideo is the only city with a million or more residents. Other cities include Colonia del Sacramento, the Maldonado metropolitan area, Rivera and Salto.

Besides the city sites, tourists visit the Casapueblo (a house and memorial of Carlos Perez Vilara) in the town of Punta Ballena and the resort, 'José Ignacio.'

Who was there before?

Two groups arrived about 4,000 years ago: the Charrua and the Tupi-Guarani. They were genocided or assumulated or died of European diseases after the Spanish arrived, so little is known of their local culture.

Around the Area

northeast
south
southwest, across the head of the Rio de la Plata
west

Footnotes

1. Translates from Spanish as black.
2. Translates from Spanish as knife.
3. Translates from Spanish as big.