San Luis (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈsan ˈlwis]) is the capital city of San Luis Province in the Cuyo region of Argentina. It is also the seat of the Juan Martín de Pueyrredón Department.

San Luis
Cathedral of San Luis
Cathedral of San Luis
Flag of San Luis
San Luis is located in Argentina
San Luis
San Luis
Location of San Luis in Argentina
Coordinates: 33°18′S 66°20′W / 33.300°S 66.333°W / -33.300; -66.333
Country Argentina
Province San Luis
DepartmentJuan Martín de Pueyrredón
FoundedAugust 25, 1594
Government
 • IntendantGastón Hissa (Avanzar San Luis)
Elevation
709 m (2,326 ft)
Population
 (2010 census)
 • Total169,947
Demonympuntano/a
Time zoneUTC−3 (ART)
CPA base
D5700
Dialing code+54 0266

City information

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Points of interest in the city include the Park of the Nations, the neoclassical cathedral, a number of museums, including the Dora Ochoa De Masramón Provincial Museum, and examples of colonial architecture. A number of landmarks honour the Argentine War of Independence, as well. Independence Park features an equestrian monument to General José de San Martín, liberator of Argentina, Chile and Perú. Nearby Pringles Plaza honours Colonel Juan Pascual Pringles, one of San Martín's chief adjutants and, briefly, Governor of San Luis Province.

Fishing in the nearby Lake Potrero de los Funes, and other locations, is also popular. The Sierra de las Quijadas National Park is located 122 km (76 mi) from the city.

Transport

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National Route 7 connects San Luis to Mendoza, 255 km (158 mi) to the west, and Buenos Aires, 791 km (492 mi) to the east. San Luis Airport is located less than 3.2 km (2 miles) north of the city centre, and has regular flights to Buenos Aires.

History

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San Luis was founded on August 25, 1594, by Luis Jufré de Loaysa y Meneses. The settlement was later abandoned, and was reestablished in 1632 by Martín García Oñez de Loyola as San Luis de Loyola Nueva Medina de Río Seco.

By the end of the 19th century, San Luis had 7,000 inhabitants, and in 1882 the Argentine Great Western Railway reached the city on its way to Chile. The following year, work began on the cathedral. The Governor's Executive Building, designed in French renaissance architecture, was completed in 1911. The city's population reached 40,000 in 1960, and grew rapidly afterwards, when light industry and growing numbers of retirees began to migrate to the area; at the 2001 census [INDEC], its population was 153,322.

Because the city is located at the part of the Sierras Grandes known as Punta de los Venados (Deer Point), the inhabitants of the city are called puntanos.

Geography

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San Luis lies at the foot of the Sierras Grandes, along the northern bank of the Chorrillos River, and is set on a dry pampas plateau, around 730 m (2,400 ft) above sea level.

Climate

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San Luis has a humid subtropical climate (Cwa, according to the Köppen climate classification) and it closely borders a semi-arid climate (BSk). Summers are hot and humid, and winters are cool and dry, with temperatures falling below 0 °C (32.0 °F) sometimes and snowfalls can occur occasionally. The hottest month, January, has an average temperature of 24.0 °C (75.2 °F), and the coldest month, July, has an average of 8.9 °C (48.0 °F). The annual average temperature is 17.4 °C (63.3 °F).

Climate data for San Luis (Brigadier Mayor César Raúl Ojeda Airport) 1991–2020, extremes 1901-present[a]
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 42.0
(107.6)
39.9
(103.8)
38.5
(101.3)
34.7
(94.5)
32.4
(90.3)
30.1
(86.2)
32.2
(90.0)
34.6
(94.3)
37.6
(99.7)
40.0
(104.0)
41.1
(106.0)
42.3
(108.1)
42.3
(108.1)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 31.6
(88.9)
30.0
(86.0)
27.6
(81.7)
23.3
(73.9)
19.6
(67.3)
17.1
(62.8)
16.7
(62.1)
19.5
(67.1)
22.4
(72.3)
25.6
(78.1)
28.5
(83.3)
30.8
(87.4)
24.4
(75.9)
Daily mean °C (°F) 24.8
(76.6)
23.2
(73.8)
21.1
(70.0)
16.9
(62.4)
13.2
(55.8)
10.3
(50.5)
9.6
(49.3)
12.2
(54.0)
15.3
(59.5)
18.9
(66.0)
21.8
(71.2)
24.0
(75.2)
17.6
(63.7)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 18.3
(64.9)
17.2
(63.0)
15.5
(59.9)
11.8
(53.2)
8.3
(46.9)
5.0
(41.0)
4.0
(39.2)
6.2
(43.2)
9.1
(48.4)
12.5
(54.5)
15.1
(59.2)
17.3
(63.1)
11.7
(53.1)
Record low °C (°F) 4.1
(39.4)
3.9
(39.0)
2.0
(35.6)
−2.4
(27.7)
−6.5
(20.3)
−9.1
(15.6)
−10.5
(13.1)
−8.7
(16.3)
−4.3
(24.3)
−4.0
(24.8)
0.3
(32.5)
1.6
(34.9)
−10.5
(13.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 115.3
(4.54)
112.5
(4.43)
92.1
(3.63)
44.8
(1.76)
18.6
(0.73)
5.4
(0.21)
5.4
(0.21)
8.6
(0.34)
22.0
(0.87)
50.1
(1.97)
87.4
(3.44)
104.9
(4.13)
667.1
(26.26)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 9.7 8.5 7.9 5.6 3.6 1.9 2.2 2.0 3.9 6.1 8.1 9.6 69.2
Average snowy days 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.5 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.1
Average relative humidity (%) 52.9 58.1 62.7 64.9 66.2 62.0 56.1 47.6 45.5 47.8 48.5 49.7 55.2
Mean monthly sunshine hours 331.7 276.9 257.3 216.0 195.3 207.0 213.9 232.5 243.0 279.0 312.0 341.0 3,105.6
Mean daily sunshine hours 10.7 9.8 8.3 7.2 6.3 6.3 6.9 7.5 8.1 9.0 10.4 11.0 8.5
Percent possible sunshine 73 75 68 68 64 62 65 71 67 73 72 71 69
Source 1: Servicio Meteorológico Nacional[1][2][3][4]
Source 2: NOAA (percent sun 1961-1990),[5] Secretaría de Minería (extremes 1901-1960)[6]
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Notable people

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References

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  1. ^ "Estadísticas Climatológicas Normales - período 1991-2020" (in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Estadísticas Climatológicas Normales – período 1991–2020" (PDF) (in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. 2023. Archived from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  3. ^ "Estadística climatológica de la República Argentina - Período 1991-2000" (in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  4. ^ "Clima en la Argentina: Guía Climática por San Luis Aero". Caracterización: Estadísticas de largo plazo (in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  5. ^ "San Luis Aero Climate Normals (1961-1990)". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  6. ^ "Provincia de San Luis - Clima y Meteorología" (in Spanish). Secretaría de Minería de la Nación (Argentina). Archived from the original on July 4, 2015. Retrieved April 10, 2013.

Notes

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  1. ^ The record highs and lows are based on the Secretaría de Minería link for the period 1901–1960, while the Servicio Meteorológico Nacional source provides record highs from 1961-present.
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