Choele Choel, Río Negro Province, Patagonia, Argentina

🇦🇷 Choele Choel is the capital of the department of Avellaneda in the Argentine province of Río Negro, and the most important settlement within the Valle Medio ("Middle Valley") agricultural area of the Río Negro River in Patagonia.

Overview Choele Choel is located at the intersection of National Routes #22 and #250, around 1000 km from Buenos Aires, 180 from General Roca, 193 from the Las Grutas beach resort, and 460 from Puerto Madryn. It has a population of 10,642 (2010 ).

Its long-distance bus terminal is a common stop for buses going to both sea-side Patagonia (Puerto Madryn, Río Gallegos, Ushuaia) and North-Andean Patagonia (Bariloche, El Bolsón).

During the 1990s, the airport used to serve regular flights to Buenos Aires, but currently serves only infrequent private charters.

History Originally named Nicolás Avellaneda, it was founded on July 9, 1879, by General Conrado Villegas. After a flood, the inhabitants moved to a place known as Pampa de los Molinos. They would stay there until March 18, 1882, when the settlement was moved to its current location.

The town acquired special importance during the Conquest of the Desert, when the border between the white man and the Native Americans was pushed south the shore of the Río Negro River.

In 1883, a post office was installed in the town. Salesians arrived in 1890. The Provincial School #10 was created in 1904, and in 1917 the Library. Irish Argentine writer Rodolfo Walsh was born in the town in 1927.

In the 1900s a group of Welsh settlers who were considering leaving Argentina were granted land in Choele Choel. Choele Choel is home to a sizable Russian community (some of them Old Believers). Besides the European immigrant communities common to most of Argentina, the town received refugees from Laos in the 1970s.

Etymology There are several versions regarding the meaning of Choele Choel: it might be from the Mapuche language, translated as "yellow flower race", or from the Tehuelche language ("small river rolling-stones"). Another version translates it as "bark scarecrows".

Access The points of access are through National Routes RN 22  and RN 250. Choele Choel also has an authorised airport for small private planes and helicopter arrivals.

Activities The most developed activities in this location are cattle breeding, agriculture, and manufacturing of raw materials such as tomatoes, apples, pears, strawberries, etc. into sauces and jellies.