- Villamontes
Villamontes (or: "Villa Montes") is a town in the
Tarija Department in south-easternBolivia .Location
"Villamontes" is the administrative center of
Villamontes Municipio and situated at coord|21|15|39|S|63|28|34|W, 390 m above sea leavel, on the left bank ofRío Pilcomayo where the river crosses theSierra del Aguarague mountain range and flows southeast into the Chaco-Foreland.Geography
Villamontes is located in the subhumid tropical zone, with a distinct
dry season from June to September.West of the town in a north-southerly direction ranges the sub Andean "Sierra del Aguarague", with a summit of 1,390 m 7 km west of Villamontes.
The town is crossed by "Río Caiguami" which discharges into "Río Pilcomayo" on the southern outskirts of Villamontes.
History
During the
Chaco War between Bolivia andParaguay (1932-1935) Villamontes accommodated the headquarters of the Bolivian Army. During the final stage of the war, the main lines of defense commanded by GeneralBernardino Bilbao Rioja were situated here.Villamontes became famous by the so-called "Corralito de Villamontes" (1934), when the head of state, Dr.
Daniel Salamanca Urey , was arrested by army units during his stay at Villamontes, and on 28 November 1934 was substituted in acoup d'état by vice presidentJosé Luis Tejada Sorzano .Population
Villamontes had a population of 11,086 inhabitants in 1992 (
census ), 16,214 inhabitants in 2001 (census), and has more than 20,000 inhabitants by 2007.Reason for the explosive increase has been the deployment of oil and gas fields in this region since the early 1990s.
External links
* [http://www.aguabolivia.org/situacionaguaX/Riego/mapas/tarija/gchaco.htm Map of Province]
* [http://www.tutiempo.net/clima/Villamontes/853450.htm Climate Villamontes]
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