Las Grutas
{{Short description|Town in Rio Negro Province, Argentina}}
{{More footnotes|date=December 2013}}
Image:Departamento San Antonio (Río Negro - Argentina).png
Las Grutas is a beach resort town located in the Argentine province of Río Negro, in the department of San Antonio, with a stable population of 8,000 inhabitants.
It's located 15 kilometers south of San Antonio Oeste, and is visited by over 400,000 tourists every summer. Its beaches are known for having relatively warm waters in spite of their location in Patagonia, due to the wide tidal amplitude, and the protection of the San Matías Gulf. The town was founded in 1964, mainly as a group of campings, and soon began growing. But it was not until the 1980s that tourism industry finally exploded, with the construction of numerous apartment and a casino. southern right whales are seasonal residents and visit here.{{Cite web|url=http://www.patagonia.com.ar/Las+Grutas/691E_Whales+also+choose+Las+Grutas.html|title=Whales also choose las Grutas - las Grutas, Patagonia, Argentina}}
Las Grutas', meaning "The Caves" in Spanish, comes from the caves created by the erosion of the sea on the cliffs that separate the city from the beach. The access to the beaches is therefore restricted to the existing 12 descends or "bajadas".
Their names, from north to south, are "3 de febrero", "Los acantilados", "A.C.A.", "La rueda", "Cero", "Primera", "Segunda", "Tercera", "Cuarta", "Quinta", "Sexta" y "Séptima", the last seven named from first to seventh.
The first accesses where the ones named "Primera", "Segunda", and "Tercera" (first, second and third), to which new ones were added as the town, and the number of visitors grew.
Near the "Cero" access there are pools artificially carved in the stone that change their water in every tidal cycle. When the tide is low, the water in the pools is quickly warmed by the sun. In colder days, old people and children sometimes prefer to make use of the pools instead of the sea.
Climate
{{Weather box
|location = Las Grutas, Río Negro (1997–2011)
|metric first = yes
|single line = yes
|Jan record high C = 39.2
|Feb record high C = 39.8
|Mar record high C = 36.4
|Apr record high C = 29.6
|May record high C = 31.0
|Jun record high C = 21.3
|Jul record high C = 22.7
|Aug record high C = 24.1
|Sep record high C = 26.8
|Oct record high C = 34.4
|Nov record high C = 35.6
|Dec record high C = 37.1
|year record high C = 39.8
|Jan high C = 26.2
|Feb high C = 26.7
|Mar high C = 24.1
|Apr high C = 19.6
|May high C = 15.3
|Jun high C = 12.4
|Jul high C = 12.5
|Aug high C = 14.5
|Sep high C = 16.1
|Oct high C = 18.3
|Nov high C = 22.7
|Dec high C = 26.4
|year high C = 19.6
|Jan mean C = 21.0
|Feb mean C = 20.9
|Mar mean C = 18.9
|Apr mean C = 14.3
|May mean C = 10.6
|Jun mean C = 8.0
|Jul mean C = 7.7
|Aug mean C = 9.4
|Sep mean C = 11.0
|Oct mean C = 13.1
|Nov mean C = 17.6
|Dec mean C = 20.7
|year mean C = 14.4
|Jan low C = 15.8
|Feb low C = 15.2
|Mar low C = 13.4
|Apr low C = 9.0
|May low C = 6.3
|Jun low C = 4.1
|Jul low C = 3.2
|Aug low C = 4.2
|Sep low C = 5.8
|Oct low C = 7.7
|Nov low C = 12.1
|Dec low C = 15.2
|year low C = 9.3
|Jan record low C = 6.9
|Feb record low C = 5.8
|Mar record low C = 1.5
|Apr record low C = -1.3
|May record low C = -3.8
|Jun record low C = -4.9
|Jul record low C = -6.0
|Aug record low C = -7.3
|Sep record low C = -4.8
|Oct record low C = -2.4
|Nov record low C = 0.8
|Dec record low C = 5.2
|year record low C = -7.3
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 15.7
|Feb precipitation mm = 16.1
|Mar precipitation mm = 47.1
|Apr precipitation mm = 9.7
|May precipitation mm = 16.9
|Jun precipitation mm = 6.8
|Jul precipitation mm = 6.9
|Aug precipitation mm = 6.1
|Sep precipitation mm = 8.4
|Oct precipitation mm = 40.3
|Nov precipitation mm = 12.9
|Dec precipitation mm = 5.8
|year precipitation mm = 189.9
|source 1 = Departamento Provincial de Aguas{{cite web
| url = http://dpa.gov.ar/clima/informes/Informe_Meteo_LasGrutas.pdf
| title = Resumen Meteorológico 1997–2011 Estación Las Grutas
| publisher = Departamento Provincial de Aguas
| language = Spanish
| accessdate = July 2, 2015
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304082935/http://dpa.gov.ar/clima/informes/Informe_Meteo_LasGrutas.pdf
| archive-date = March 4, 2016
| url-status = dead
}}
|date=July 2015
}}
References
External links
{{coord|40|48|30|S|65|05|12|W|region:AR_type:city(3500)|display=title}}
Category:Populated places in Río Negro Province
Category:Seaside resorts in Argentina
Category:Populated places established in 1964
{{RíoNegroAR-geo-stub}}