Uruguay - Tourism and Travel

The Oriental Republic of Uruguay is a country in central South America, located on the Atlantic Coast.

Uruguay has an area of 68,037 square miles (176, 215 square kilometers).

The country is located in a transitional zone between Brazil's hilly uplands and the Argentinian pampas.

Most of Uruguay consists of hills and low plateaus. There are rolling grasslands that are ideal for cattle and sheep rearing.

The Cuchilla Grande is a range of hills in western Uruguay.

There are many lagoons and inland tidal lakes along the Atlantic coast.

Long-term lagoons formed when sea levels dropped thousands of years ago. Drifting sand and sediment creates more temporary lagoons.

The Río de la Plata is a large estuary that forms at the confluence of the Uruguay and Paraná rivers, near Nueva Palmira in southwestern Uruguay.

Summers in Uruguay are warm, and winters are mild.

The capital of Uruguay is Montevideo, which is located on the Río de la Plata, across from Buenos Aires in Argentina.

Montevideo is a popular destination for tourists from other countries in South America.

3,361,000 people live in Uruguay, two fifths of them in Montevideo.

90% of the people are white.

The official language is Spanish.

66% of the people are Roman Catholic, 2% are Protestant and 2% are Jewish.

Cattle ranching and sheep ranching form the bases of the economy.

Important industries are food products, petroleum products and textiles.

Major exports are textiles, agricultural products, meat, wool and hides.

Uruguay has a presidential system of government.

The official currency is the peso, which is equal to 100 centésimos.