Salto Department

The **Salto department** () is a department of Uruguay. The capital is the city of Salto.

Its ISO 3166-2 code  is **UY-SA**.

## Name

The name of the department and of its capital city comes from the presence of small waterfalls () in the Uruguay river.

## History

The Salto department was made on 17 June 1837; then, the department included the present Artigas Department. Its final borders were defined on 1 October 1884, when the Artigas department was separated from Salto.

## Geography

The Salto department is in the northwestern part of the country. It has an area of , the second largest in the country after the Tacuarembó department. It is the fourth department with more people living in it, with a population of 124,878 inhabitants (2011 census) for a population density of .

There are two chains of low and rounded hills in the department. These chains of are known as _cuchillas_ in the country. The two _cuchillas_ in the department are the _cuchilla de los Arapeyes_ to the north, and the _cuchilla del Daymán_ that runs across the department from the southeast to the northeast. Between these two chains is the valley of the Arapey Grande river.

### Limits

- To the north: Artigas department.
- To the east: Rivera and Tacuarembó departments
- To the south: Paysandú department.
- To the west: Argentina, separated by the Uruguay river.

### Rivers

The main rivers in the department are:
1. _Uruguay_ river to the west; it makes the border with Argentina.
1. _Arapey Grande_ river, a tributary of the Uruguay river.
1. _Daymán_ river to the south; it is also a tributary of the Uruguay river and forms the border with the Paysandú department.

### Climate

The Köppen climate classification type for the climate in the city of Salto is a "Humid subtropical climate" and of the subtype **Cfa**.

The average amount of precipitation for the year in Salto is . The month with the most precipitation on average is March with  of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is August with an average of .

The average temperature for the year in Salto is . The warmest month, on average, is January with an average temperature of . The coolest month on average is June, with an average temperature of .

## Demographics

The inhabitants of the Salto department (and of the city of Artigas) are known, in Spanish, as _Salteños_ (women: _Salteñas_.

**Evolution of the population in Salto**

- **Rural population**
According to the 2011 census, the Artigas department has a rural population of 7,849.

- **Main towns**

|City / Town||Population <small>(2011)</small>|
| --- | --- | --- |
|Salto|104,028||
|Constitución|2,762||
|Belén|1,926||
|Pueblo Lavalleja|956||
|San Antonio|877||

## Related pages

- Departments of Uruguay
- ISO 3166-2:UY

## Other websites

- Intendencia de Salto website
- Enciclopedia Geográfica del Uruguay|Salto
- Statoids - Departments of Uruguay

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Salto
- **type**: Departments of Uruguay, Department
- **image skyline**: Calle en Salto.jpg
- **image alt**: A street in the ciyt of Salto
- **image caption**: A street in the city of Salto, Uruguay, Salto.
- **image flag**: Flag of Salto Department.svg
- **image shield**: Coat of arms of Salto Department.png
- **shield size**: 75px
- **image map**: Salto in Uruguay.svg
- **map caption**: Location of Salto, in red, in Uruguay
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **established title**: Creation
- **established date**: 17 June 1837
- **seat type**: Capital city, Capital
- **seat**: Salto, Uruguay, Salto
- **leader title**: Intendant
- **leader name**: Andrés Lima
- **unit pref**: Metric
- **area total km2**: 14163
- **population total**: 124878
- **population as of**: 2011
- **population density km2**: auto
- **timezone1**: UYT
- **utc offset1**: -03
- **iso code**: ISO 3166-2:UY, UY-SA
- **website**: [http://www.salto.gub.uy/ Official website]