(79.7 °F)and in the winter 15.4 °C (59.6 °F). The climate of the city is generally hot or warm throughout the year, due to the relatively low altitude (standing only 173 m, , above sea level). Generally, the city is sunny during the year, but rain is fairly common during the spring and in the summer. The weather of the city, however, changes very constantly, because the region where the city stands is the zone where frequently three fronts meet. As consequence, it is not uncommon to see temperatures as high as 35 °C (95 °F) and in the summer as low as 8 °C (46 °F) in the city and frequent thunderstorms. History In 1549, a Spanish explorer, Cabeza de Vaca, found the falls while travelling down the river. Very impressed, he named them "Quedas de Santa Maria". Later the name changed to Quedas del Iguazu; which was derived from the native name of the local Guarani Indians. Until 1860, it was under the disputed territory between Brazil and Paraguay, but given the latter's defeat in the Paraguayan War, the falls were recognized as part of the Brazilian territory. In 1910, the colony's status was upgraded to the position of "vila" (town or village), named "Vila Iguazu", and, in 1914, to city. At that time, the city was known as Foz do Iguassu. In 1916, Alberto Santos-Dumont visited the region and, impressed with the beauty of the region, suggested more attention of the government to the area and asked for the appropriation of the land where currently is the Parque do Iguaçu (Iguaçu Park). Until 1917, this region had an owner, Jezus Val. The state appropriated the land in the next year, and, in 1939, the Parque Nacional do Iguaçu ("Iguaçu National Park") was created. In 1945, an agreement between the Brazilian Academy of Letters and the Academy of Lisbon changed the city name to Foz do Iguaçu. The city experienced a big economical boom in the 1960s to the late 1980s, first with the construction of the Friendship Bridge, concluded in 1965, and the Itaipu Dam, in operation since in 1984. On 19 October 2005, a proposal was made to adjust the city name to Foz do Iguassu. The proposal was approved in a first debate and then rejected in a second debate, at the Town Hall (Câmara Municipal), by four votes for and eight against. The bill