to the Atlantic Ocean, through the Lagoa dos Patos. Santa Maria Airport is located away from downtown, in the neighborhood of Camobi. It has capacity for large airplanes and offers daily flights to Porto Alegre, Santo Ângelo and Uruguaiana. Santa Maria Air Force Base - ALA4, one of their most important bases of the Brazilian Air Force, is located in Santa Maria and shares some facilities with the airport. Distances to other cities Santa Maria—Porto Alegre: . Santa Maria—Pelotas: . Santa Maria—Cruz Alta: . Santa Maria—Uruguaiana: . Santa Maria—Passo Fundo: . Santa Maria—Caxias do Sul: . Education A popular nickname for Santa Maria is "University City" (Portuguese: "Cidade Universitária") or "Culture city" (Portuguese: "Cidade Cultura"), due to its large student population. The largest university, the Federal University of Santa Maria, was founded in 1960 by José Mariano da Rocha Filho; while the private university center Universidade Franciscana was founded in 1951. The city also has a number of other smaller private colleges, such as the Methodist University of Santa Maria (FAMES). Climate Santa Maria has a humid subtropical climate and its annual average temperature is . In January, the warmest month, highs frequently surpass with the average low dropping to . In June, the coldest month, highs reach and lows usually go below , reaching up to , but snow is a rare occurrence. Rainfall is distributed evenly throughout the year with a monthly average of . Quality of life According to the United Nations (PNUD 2000), Santa Maria ranks 45th in quality of life in Brazil and 9th in the state. According to data from 2006, from Fundação de Economia e Estatística – FEE, life expectancy at birth is of 74.01 years and the demographic density of the municipality is . The level of atmospheric pollution in Santa Maria is low, since the urban area, for the most part, is composed of retail commerce and services, without polluting sectors. Sport Santa Maria has two football teams, Inter-SM and Riograndense-SM, one American football team, the Santa Maria Soldiers and one Rugby team, the Universitario Rugby. Paleontology The city is the birthplace of paleontology in Rio Grande do Sul and Brazil. The Paleontological Sites of Santa Maria are internationally known. In 1902, a Rhynchosaur was collected in Santa Maria, one of the first fossil collections made in South America since Darwin's voyage on the Beagle between 1831 and 1836. Llewellyn Ivor