Rawson is the capital of the Argentine province of Chubut, in the Patagonia.
The city of 26,183 inhabitants is also the capital of the Rawson Department, which has 122,000 (2001 census [INDEC]).
Even though it is the capital of the province, its population is smaller than that of other cities in Chubut: Comodoro Rivadavia, Trelew, Puerto Madryn and Esquel.
Rawson is located some 20 kilometres of both Trelew, the Almirante Zar Trelew Airport, and the National Route #3, 1,500 kilometres south of Buenos Aires. It's placed on both sides of the River Chubut, over which a bridge was built in 1889 that is still used. Playa Unión, Rawson's resort beach, is 6 km from the city centre.
T he city has a fishing port, Puerto Rawson, on the Atlantic Ocean coast 5 km down the river. Provincial administration and the port are the main economical activities in the city.
There are two small museums in Rawson. The City Museum, above a cinema, has historical objects and old photographs. The Don Bosco Museum has a collection of local history and wildlife, including artefacts from the Welsh community. The General San Martín Zoo and Park covers, since 1976, 6 hectares of the shore of the Chubut River.
Rawson's climate is dry, with temperatures in the range 0° to 15°C in winter, and 10° to 20°C in spring and autumn, with peaks of up to 38°C in summer.

History

The town was founded on September 15, 1865, officially by Coronel Julián Murga, and settled by newly arrived immigrants from Wales, and was named after Dr. Guillermo Rawson, the Argentine Interior Minister of the time, who supported the Welsh settlement in Argentina. Its importance before the Conquest of the Desert.
Substantial construction of government buildings in the 1970s resulted in the town being nicknamed "The little Brasilia of Patagonia" (La Pequeńa Brasilia de la Patagonia). It was originally known as "Trerawson", Welsh for Rawson's town, a name it still retains amongst Welsh speakers and some older residents.