Esquel, Argentina
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}}Template:Main other{{#ifexpr:{{#invoke:ParameterCount|main|mapframe|image_map|image_map1|pushpin_map}} >2 |Template:Main other}} Esquel is a town in the northwest of Chubut Province in Argentine Patagonia. It is located in Futaleufú Department, of which it is the government seat. Esquel is the home station for “La Trochita,” a historic narrow gauge railway known in English as “The Old Patagonian Express.” Esquel is also known for its ski area, “La Hoya,” and as a gateway city to Los Alerces National Park, a UNESCO protected reserve featuring some of the oldest trees in South America. The name Esquel derives from one of two Tehuelche words: one meaning "marsh" and the other meaning "land of burrs",{{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B= Template:Fix }} which refers to the many thorny plants including the pimpinella, and the other meaning herbaceous plants whose fruits, when ripe, turn into prickly burrs that stick to the animals' skins and wool or people's clothes as a way of propagation.
History
The founding of the town dates back to the arrival of Welsh immigrants in Chubut in 1865. The settlement was created on 25 February 1906, as an extension of the Colonia 16 de Octubre, that also contains the town of Trevelin.
The city, the main town of the area, is located by the Esquel Stream and surrounded by the mountains La Zeta, La Cruz, Cerro 21 and La Hoya. La Hoya is known as a ski resort with good quality snow right through the spring. The Los Alerces National Park is Template:Convert northwest of the city.
An important tourist attraction is the narrow-gauge railway (with Template:Cvt between the rails), known as La Trochita locally and in English as The Old Patagonian Express after the book The Old Patagonian Express by Paul Theroux. At Template:Cvt in length, it is said to be the only narrow-gauge long-distance line in operation and the southernmost railway in the world. The first fifty oil-fired steam locomotives were made by Henschel & Son of Germany in 1922. Later twenty-five locomotives were bought from the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia.
The train remains authentic and in operation thanks to the effort of the team of workers at Talleres Ferroviarios El Maiten, that make several parts by hand. Trains now run as a tourist excursion between Esquel and the small settlement of Nahuel Pan, located at the foot of the volcano of the same name, with other services all the way to El Maitén. Until 1993, the train ran all the way to the city of Ingeniero Jacobacci in Río Negro Province, from where trains ran to Viedma, Río Negro and from there to Buenos Aires, forming the General Roca railway.
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According to the Template:Census-ar, the Esquel district had about 28,000 inhabitants, with one of the highest rates of growth in the province, mainly as result of the immigration of people from Buenos Aires, but also from other provinces. It has wide cement streets with sidewalks, and is clean and well maintained. Their hospital is the primary one for the zone and is often a destination for "Medical Tourism" from both foreigners and Porteños (residents of Buenos Aires) alike.
In 2003 a mining referendum was held in Esquel with 81% of voters, with a participation rate of 75%, rejected the establishment a mining project by Median Gold.<ref name=MecanismosUrd07>Urdinez, María Victoria (2007). Mecanismos de participación y control ciudadano: 'El plebiscito en Esquel. IV Jornadas de Jóvenes Investigadores. Instituto de Investigaciones Gino Germani, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires</ref><ref name=Wagner2019>Template:Cite journal</ref> The mine was estimated to create 1,500 jobs during ten years.<ref name=MecanismosUrd07/>
In May 2009, Esquel was twinned with Aberystwyth in Wales; with representatives of the Welsh town traveling to Argentina to participate in the signing of a charter formalising the link.

Esquel meteorite
Template:Further In 1951 a farmer found a Template:Convert meteorite, later called Esquel, while digging a hole for a water tank. When cut and polished, the meteorite showed beautiful yellowish olivine (peridot) crystals. The Esquel meteorite is known worldwide among collectors and the scientific community.
Climate
Owing to its location on the immediate leeward side of the Andes, Esquel has a cool summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csb) bordering on a Humid continental climate (Köppen Dsb).<ref name="IRNesquel">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Other climate systems, such as the Trewartha climate classification, place it within the oceanic zone (Do), like much of Western Europe and the Pacific Northwest. Temperatures are relatively cold for its climate due to its higher altitude.<ref name="IRNesquel" /> Summers are mild with warm temperatures during the afternoon followed by cool nights.<ref name="SMN2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The mean temperature during the summer is around Template:Convert.<ref name=IRNesquel/> It's the sunniest season, averaging as much as 10 hours of sunshine per day in January with an average of 7–8 clear days and only 5-7 overcast days.<ref name=IRNesquel/><ref name=IRN/> Spring and fall are transition seasons featuring mild temperatures during the day and cool to cold nights.<ref name=SMN2/> Spring starts out with cool temperatures during the day and very cold nights which progressively becomes warmer.<ref name=SMN2/> Both spring and fall have highly variable weather.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Winters vary from cool to cold with mean temperatures close to freezing while precipitation is high.<ref name=IRNesquel/> Temperatures regularly fall below freezing during the winter nights.<ref name=SMN2/> Winters are characterized by cloudy weather, averaging 11-13 overcast days from June to August.<ref name=IRN/> Snow falls on average on twenty days each winter but accumulation is usually less than Template:Cvt. The average date of the first frost occurs on March 7 while the average date of the last frost occurs on November 10 although frosts have been recorded in all months.<ref name = ORA> {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The average relative humidity is 62%, ranging from a high of 77% in June and July to a low of 49% in January.<ref name= NOAA>Template:Cite FTP</ref> Summers have lower humidity due to higher temperatures.<ref name=IRNesquel/> Most of the wind comes from the west or the southwest with calm days being uncommon.<ref name=IRNesquel/> The relief modifies the wind speeds with southern areas receiving more wind than the north.<ref name=IRNesquel/> Mean wind speeds range from Template:Convert in July to Template:Convert in December with summers being more windy than winters.<ref name=IRNesquel/><ref name=SMN2/> Esquel receives an average annual precipitation of Template:Convert a year; much of it being concentrated in the winter months.<ref name=IRNesquel/> Esquel, which lies in the zone of transition between the wetter Andes to the west and the steppes to the east,<ref name=IRNesquel/> records higher precipitation in the town than in the airport located Template:Cvt to the east.Template:Sfn It is estimated that Esquel receives an average of 7 hours of sunshine per day, ranging from a high of 10 hours in January to a low of 5 hours in July.<ref name=IRNesquel/>
See also
References
Notes
Books
External links
- Template:Ar-mi-muni
- Municipality of Esquel - General, government and tourism information (in English and Spanish).