Canelones

Canelones, second-largest department of Uruguay in terms of population (359,700 in 1985) and part of Greater Montevideo. Originally this department was the main supplier of vegetables and fruits for the capital city, but urban sprawl has engulfed most of the valuable agricultural land. Food-processing plants, factories for manufacturing durable goods, a paper mill, and granite/mica schist quarries are among the main supporters of the department's economy. Its major center is the town of Canelones (17,316 inhabitants in 1985), 27 miles north of Montevideo. Founded in 1774, it was for a short time the capital of Uruguay (in 1828). Canelones caters to the needs of the vegetable growers and small industries of the department.

See alsoUruguay, Geography .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Beatriz Torrendell, Geografía histórica de Canelones (Montevideo, 1986).

Additional Bibliography

Grupo Interdisciplinario de Economía de la Energía (Uruguay) and Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Canelones: Economía del departamento: Análisis y perspectivas al año 2010. Montevideo: Convenio UTE-Universidad de la República, 1996.

Gutiérrez Laplace, Juan Manuel. Crónicas de la costa: Canelones: Historias, personajes y memorias del arroyo Carrasco al Solís Grande. Montevideo, Uruguay: Ediciones de la Banda Oriental, 2000.

Villegas, Juan. El Departamento de Canelones, Uruguay: Sus números hacia 1877–1878. Montevideo, Uruguay: Centros de Estudios de Historia Americana, 2006.

                                         CÉsar N. Caviedes