Artigas Department

The Artigas department () is a department of Uruguay. The capital is the city of Artigas.
Its code is UY-AR.
Name.
The department and its capital city are named after José Gervasio Artigas (1764–1850), leader of the "Orientales" (inhabitants of the "Banda Oriental", the Eastern side of the Uruguay river) during the wars of independence of Uruguay.
Geography.
The Artigas department is the most northern department of Uruguay; it is in the northwestern part of the country. It has an area of , the fifth largest in the country. The population is 73,378 inhabitants (2011 census) for a population density of .
Limits.
Artigas is the only Uruguayan department that borders two other countries: Brazil and Argentina.
Rivers.
The department is surrounded by three rivers:
Climate.
The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at Artigas is a "Humid subtropical climate" and of the subtype Cfa.
The average amount of precipitation for the year in Artigas is . The month with the most precipitation on average is March with of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is August with an average of .
The average temperature for the year in Artigas is . The warmest month, on average, is January with an average temperature of . The coolest month on average is June, with an average temperature of .
Demographics.
The inhabitants of the Artigas department (and of the city of Artigas) are known, in Spanish, as "Artiguenses".
Evolution of the population in Artigas
According to the 2011 census, the Artigas department has a rural population of 3,524.