Artigas Department

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

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

## Name

The department and its capital city are named after José Gervasio Artigas (1764–1850), leader of the _Orientales_ (inhabitants of the _Banda Oriental_, the Eastern side of the Uruguay river) during the wars of independence of Uruguay.

## Geography

The Artigas department is the most northern department of Uruguay; it is in the northwestern part of the country. It has an area of , the fifth largest in the country. The population is 73,378 inhabitants (2011 census) for a population density of .

### Limits

- To the north and east: Brazil, separated by the _Cuareim_ river.
- To the south: Salto department.
- To the west: Argentina, separated by the Uruguay river.

Artigas is the only Uruguayan department that borders two other countries: Brazil and Argentina.

### Rivers

The department is surrounded by three rivers:
1. _Cuareim_ river (), to the north; it makes the border with Brazil.
1. _Uruguay_ river to the west; it makes the border with Argentina.
1. _Arapey Chico_ river to the south; it separates the Artigas and Salto departments.

### Climate

The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at Artigas is a "Humid subtropical climate" and of the subtype **Cfa**.

The average amount of precipitation for the year in Artigas 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 Artigas 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 Artigas department (and of the city of Artigas) are known, in Spanish, as _Artiguenses_.

**Evolution of the population in Artigas**

- **Rural population**
According to the 2011 census, the Artigas department has a rural population of 3,524.

- **Main towns**

|City / Town||Population <small>(2011)</small>|
| --- | --- | --- |
|Artigas|40,658||
|Bella Unión|12,200||
|Las Piedras|2,771||
|Tomás Gomensoro|2,659||
|Baltasar Brum|2,531||
|Pintadito|1,642||
|Sequeira|1,149||

## Related pages

- Departments of Uruguay
- ISO 3166-2:UY

## Other websites

- Intendencia Departamental de Artigas website
- Statoids - Departments of Uruguay

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Artigas
- **type**: Departments of Uruguay, Department
- **image skyline**: Iglesiaart.JPG
- **image alt**: Sacred Heart church, Artigas
- **image caption**: Sacred Heart church, Artigas, Uruguay, Artigas.
- **image flag**: Flag of Artigas Department.svg
- **image shield**: Escudo de Itapua, Paraguay.PNG
- **shield size**: 75px
- **image map**: Artigas in Uruguay.svg
- **map caption**: Location of Artigas, in red, in Uruguay
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **established title**: Creation
- **established date**: 1 October 1884
- **seat type**: Capital city, Capital
- **seat**: Artigas, Uruguay, Artigas
- **leader title**: Intendant
- **leader name**: Pablo Caram
- **unit pref**: Metric
- **area total km2**: 11928
- **population total**: 73378
- **population as of**: 2011
- **population density km2**: auto
- **timezone1**: UYT
- **utc offset1**: -03
- **iso code**: ISO 3166-2:UY, UY-AR
- **website**: [http://www.artigas.gub.uy Official website]