Ambassador and Mrs. Baxter pause for a photo op with embassy personnel and municipal staff during a visit to Quebrada de los Cuervos, a protected nature reserve in Treinta y Tres.

On April 23, U.S. Ambassador Frank E. Baxter visited the municipality (departamento) of Treinta y Tres in eastern Uruguay. Spanish for 'Thirty-Three', Treinta y Tres was named after the 33 nationalists who successfully fought for Uruguayan independence in the 1820s. This department is one of the least populated in the country, however it is a major commercial and manufacturing centre for an agricultural and pastoral hinterland. Cattle and sheep are raised widely; rice, wheat, corn (maize), oats, and linseed are the chief crops. As of the census of 2004, there were 49,318 people and 16,341 households in the department.

While in Treinta y Tres, Ambassador Baxter met with Intendant Gerardo Amaral and other local government officials. He also visited the Arrozur plant, a major producer of parboiled rice, rice oil and biodiesel, and enjoyed a nature walk at the Quebrada de los Cuervos (Gorge of the Crows) nature reserve. It is the largest canyon in Uruguay, with a sub-tropical forest growing at the bottom of the gorge. Many bird species that are rare in Uruguay, such as vultures, breed on the cliffs and in the surrounding protected areas.

>Click to enlarge photo  Ambassador and Mrs. Baxter meet with Intendant Gerardo Amaral and other Treinta y Tres officials.		>Click to enlarge photo  Ambassador Baxter holds a ceramic vase he received from Intendant Amaral.

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Ambassador Baxter and Intendant Amaral visit a monument in Plaza 19 de Abril where the remains of Juan Rosas, one of the 33 nationalists who fought for Uruguay's independence, are laid to rest.

>Click to enlarge photo  Ambassador and Mrs. Baxter with Intendant Amaral admire the church in front of Plaza 19 de Abril.		>Click to enlarge photo  Ambassador and Mrs. Baxter with Intendant Amaral and his wife Matilde.

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Ambassador and Mrs. Baxter accompanied by Intendant Amaral visit the Arrozur plant in Treinta y Tres, a major rice processing facility.

>Click to enlarge photo  Ambassador Baxter inspects a sample of biodiesel produced from rice.		>Click to enlarge photo  Ambassador Baxter follows a cliffside walkway along the edge of the Quebrada de los Cuervos gorge.

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Ambassador Baxter's visit to the Quebrada de los Cuervos nature reserve along its trails and down a cliffside walkway into the canyon.