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
340px|thumb|left|Map of Salto
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:
 Uruguay river to the west; it makes the border with Argentina.
 Arapey Grande river, a tributary of the Uruguay river.
 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(2011) Salto  104,028 Constitución  2,762 Belén  1,926 Pueblo Lavalleja  956 San Antonio  877 

 Gallery 

Related pages
 Departments of Uruguay
 ISO 3166-2:UY

References

Other websites

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

Category:Departments of Uruguay
Category:1837 establishments
Category:1830s establishments in Uruguay