Buenos Aires, the metropolis of South America, the largest city on that continent, and fourth in all America, has also a wide reputation as the second Latin city in the world. Its population is well towards 2,000,000, its area is more than double that of Paris. All its splendors may not here be rehearsed. The attractions of its 74 beautiful parks and plazas, its fine avenues, its magnificent Capitol and other public buildings, its beautiful opera house, almost the finest in the world, the many artistic and sumptuous residences, the excellent hotels, with many other admirable features make it a city delightsome to tourist and resident. The city is spoken of as a very expensive place to live, but in ordinary times, some things were cheaper than in New York while others were much dearer. Rents were high, the prices of fruit and vegetables, etc. In general, in other places in Argentina prices were higher for poor accommodations than in Europe before the War for far better. As a business centre, Buenos Aires naturally is of prime importance for the southern part of the continent. From here it is easy to visit Uruguay, Paraguay, and since the opening of the Trans-Continental, Chile also; while in every direction railways radiate to the chief cities of Argentina, even to those that are accessible by boat.
We may perhaps get the geography of the Republic most accurately if we begin near the countries with which we are familiar at the northwest, and come from the outskirts to the commercial and political centre of the Republic.
Jujuy in the northwest corner naturally has on the north Bolivia, which comes down a little on the west, where it is followed by a bit of Chile, then by the Argentine Territory of Los Andes. The last is also on the south with a longer stretch of the Province of Salta, which extends along the entire east border as well. Here in Jujuy we are again among the mountains, for three ranges come from Bolivia, passing on through Salta at the south. The puna at the northwest is nearly 12,000 feet high; on this arid plateau are two salt lakes. The mountains reach an altitude of 15,000-20,000 feet. There are low valleys too, where there is mixed farming, not many cattle. Above are the wild vicuñas, guanacos, and chinchillas, as in Bolivia, and various minerals including gold, silver, petroleum, etc., not much worked. Sugar refining and wine making are important.
The capital, Jujuy, is in a rich and picturesque valley as low as 3675 feet, from which the railway climbs rapidly to La Quiaca, on the border of Bolivia.
Salta extends along the southern border of Bolivia from Jujuy to Formosa and Gran Chaco on the east; on the south are Santiago, Tucumán, and Catamarca; on the west Los Andes with Jujuy. The north and west sections are mountainous and cold, with high table-lands and fertile valleys; in the east the terrain comes down to the tropical country, where in places there are forests though some sections are hot and dry. Temperate and tropical products are found here; in the mountains are many varieties of minerals. Cattle are raised, some being driven over the mountains into Chile; hence the proposed railway to Antofagasta.
Salta, the capital, with an agreeable climate, is a considerable town, important as a railway centre and with trade of various kinds.
Los Andes, a Territory at the west, is a bleak mountain region, once belonging to Chile, and a part of the Puna de Atacama. It is but slightly explored, dry and sandy, with salt marshes; it appears to be rich in minerals.
San Antonio, the capital, is a place of small importance not on a railway.
Formosa and Gran Chaco, Territories east of Salta, are precisely opposite to Los Andes in character. Formosa has Bolivia on the northwest; on the long northeast boundary the Pilcomayo River separates it from Paraguay, which is also at the southeast, there separated by the Paraguay River. On the southwest the Bermejo divides it from the Chaco, while Salta is west.
The Chaco of similar shape has at the southeast a bit of the Paraguay River and country, and below a little of Corrientes across the Paraná. Santa Fé and Santiago del Estero are on the south, the latter with Salta west. These two Territories are truly semi-tropical, flat or undulating, sloping to the southeast, partly covered with dense forests, not thoroughly explored; partly with open plains, lakes and marshes, many rivers, much very fertile land suited to tropical products, some of which are grown, and excellent pasturage where herds of cattle are bred, horses, sheep, and goats. The quebracho industry for tannin, and the production of sugar are important, with some cotton plantations and castor oil factories.
Formosa, capital of that Territory, is important as a port, shipping a variety of products down the river, and as the terminus of a railway to go to Embarcación, opening up this rich Territory.
Resistencia, capital of the Chaco, on the Paraná River, is of equal and growing importance. It has railway connection with Santa Fé.
Misiones, at the extreme northeast of Argentina, is a Territory of some similarity to the two just mentioned, but with greater attractions and merit. Long and narrow, it extends up between Paraguay and Brazil, separated from the former country by the Paraná River on the west, from the latter by the Iguassú on the north and by the Uruguay on the southeast, Brazil enclosing it on the north, east, and south. Misiones joins the rest of Argentina only by a small strip along the Province Corrientes on the southwest. Misiones is a subtropical garden largely covered with beautiful forests where the picking of mate leaves is a leading industry; there is some timber extraction, and saw mills. It is an undulating plain with ranges of low mountains and hills. There are various minerals, and in open spaces some cattle.
Posadas, the capital, is a pleasant town, important as a railway and steamboat junction.
Catamarca, a Province again at the west, we find bordering on Chile, south of Los Andes and Salta, with Tucumán and Santiago east, and Córdoba and La Rioja south. The Province is largely mountainous, one peak in the eastern range, Aconquija, being over 15,000 feet. Some short torrential streams, formerly disappearing in salt marshes, are now utilized for irrigation. Cereals and other agricultural products, also cattle are raised. The Province is rich in minerals, with workings in gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, and salt.
Catamarca, the capital, on the Catamarca River, is of some importance as the centre of a rich agricultural district.
Tucumán, east of Catamarca, south of Salta, with Santiago east and south, is the smallest of the Provinces, but more varied in character than most. It has snow-capped mountains, and well watered valleys and plains, some quite tropical; with agriculture, or with dense forests of quebracho, oak, pine, etc. There is activity in sugar refining and tanning, with steam saw mills, and with cereals and fruit.
Tucumán, the capital, is a large city, especially important, as the center of the sugar industry, and with many varied interests.
Santiago del Estero, more than seven times the size of Tucumán, is south of Salta and the Chaco, with Chaco and Santa Fé east, Córdoba south, and Catamarca and Tucumán west. Mostly in the lowlands, it is in places covered with forest; in other parts is a salt, clayey, partial desert which is now being crossed by railways. Here woodmen cut out quebracho trees, though in this section it does not rain for 11 months in the year, nor can wells, they say, be dug to get water unless they are over 3000 feet deep, as water obtained higher is salt. The summer temperature by day runs nearly to 120° F., while in winter it falls to 50°, with cool nights always. Water difficulties are obviously great, worse than formerly at Iquique. To cross these partly forested deserts by rail is a 40-hour journey. Between the two rivers, the Salado and Dulce, both used for irrigation, the soil is fertile, producing sugar cane, vines, wheat, alfalfa, for which the soil is favorable, coffee, and tobacco. Some quarrying of marble and gypsum goes on; but timber is the main industry.
The capital is a small town of the same name on the Rio Dulce.
La Rioja is a long, irregularly shaped Province south of Catamarca, with that and Córdoba east, San Luis and San Juan south, the latter running nearly all the way up on the west, leaving a small space of Rioja bordering on Chile. Among high mountains at the west are fertile irrigated valleys with varied agriculture; there are forests with quebracho, carob, and acacia; but much of the eastern part is low, sandy, and barren. Great mineral wealth of many varieties exists, but silver and copper are chiefly exploited.
La Rioja, the capital, is the centre of a rich fruit growing district, with some mining.
San Juan, with an extended border on Chile, has Rioja north and east, San Luis and Mendoza on the south, on the west are lofty mountains and well watered valleys; in the east barren sand hills and marshes. Wine making is the most important industry; varied minerals give promise for the future. The Province has been called rather slow, but it is now said to be waking up; irrigation is beginning and other improvements will follow.
Córdoba, an important Province, much larger, is the fourth in population and the second in wheat production. It has Santiago north, Santa Fé east, Buenos Aires and La Pampa south, and San Luis, La Rioja, and Catamarca west. Although mostly rather flat, there are mountains in the northwest of an altitude of 8000-9000 feet among which are deep broad valleys. The country is chiefly agricultural and pastoral.
Córdoba, the old capital, founded in 1573, in a charming location among the hills, preserves some rather mediaeval characteristics, its university dating from 1613. A wonderful reservoir is near, the Dique San Roque, called one of the largest semi-natural reservoirs in the world. A wall of masonry was built across a gorge among the mountains forming a lake which holds 825,000,000 cubic feet of water. Fifteen miles lower is a basin from which lead two primary canals carrying water for irrigation, which extends over 300,000 acres.
Mendoza, the third largest Province and the most southern of the Andean, with a long border on Chile, is just below San Juan; has San Luis on the east, and on the south the Territories of La Pampa Central and Neuquen. The surface is much diversified, containing the highest peaks of the Andes including Aconcagua at the west, and eight passes across the Andes, among them, the famous Uspallata, at the summit of which is the celebrated statue, the Christ of the Andes, at a height of 12,796 feet above the sea. More than 2000 feet below, the Trans-Andine tunnel pierces the range. The Province has many rivers from which there is extensive irrigation; for the climate and the soil are dry, though the latter is fertile when irrigated. It is a great section for grapes.
Mendoza, the capital, is headquarters for the wine industry. Grapes are brought thither from the regions north and south. Raisins and alcohol are also produced. Excellent livestock, cattle, horses, mules, donkeys, sheep, goats, and pigs are raised; in the San Rafael section, Durhams and Herefords, many of which are sent over to Chile.
San Luis, east both of Mendoza and San Juan, lies south of La Rioja and Córdoba, has the latter and La Pampa east, and La Pampa south. The Province has mountains of the Córdoba system, some rising to a height of 7000 feet, with fertile well watered valleys; at the west are swamps, while the south is flat and arid. There are a number of rivers and much attention is paid to agriculture, to cattle raising, and horse breeding. The minerals, of great variety, are hardly noticed.
Santa Fé, the last of the Provinces west of the Paraná River, extends along its right bank from the Chaco on the north a distance of nearly 500 miles to the Province of Buenos Aires on the south, with Corrientes and Entre Rios on the other side of the river, and Córdoba and Santiago on the west. This State, second in population to Buenos Aires, though fifth in area, is a great plain with slight elevations, having dense forests at the north, at the south the fertile prairie, and along the great river many islands, covered with luxuriant vegetation. It is an agricultural, cattle raising country, with mills and factories also; and with extensive commerce in cereals, meat, hides, quebracho extract, and timber, from the many fluvial ports. The chief of these, Rosario, is the second largest city of the Republic with a population of 317,000. The Province contains 3000 miles of railway.
Corrientes, east and south of the Paraná River, therefore south of Paraguay, has Misiones at the northeast, Brazil east, across the Uruguay River, Entre Rios south, and Santa Fé and the Gran Chaco west across the Paraná. The Province has temperate uplands and warmer lowlands, and is well watered by rivers and some lakes and marshes. Corrientes is prominent as a cattle-raising State and has also large flocks of sheep.
The capital, Corrientes, is an important river-port visited during most of the year by vessels drawing 12 or 13 feet. Goya, farther south, is famed for its excellent cheese.
Entre Rios, south of Corrientes, has Uruguay east beyond the Uruguay River, Buenos Aires south across the Paraná, and Santa Fé beyond the same river on the west. It is in general a fertile, well-watered plain, with a forest region at the northwest running over into Corrientes, containing much valuable timber. It is a stock-raising and an agricultural region, largely devoted to cereals, with grain of the finest quality. It has also many industrial establishments.
Paraná, the capital, is a growing centre with some fine buildings, electric lights, and other facilities. Concordia, on the Uruguay River, is an important commercial town.
Buenos Aires, the last, largest, and most important of the Provinces, with the greatest population, is the only one with an ocean front. Buenos Aires has on the north Córdoba and Santa Fé; northeast, on the other side of the Paraná and La Plata, Entre Rios and Uruguay; the Atlantic is on the east and south with a bit of Rio Negro, which with La Pampa is on the west, with a little also of Córdoba. The land is flat, but with two ranges of hills; the highest in one range is 1200, in the other about 3000 feet. Several useful, some navigable rivers flow towards the ocean. The country is agricultural and pastoral, especially devoted to cattle and wheat, but in the numerous towns, industries and manufactories are developing. Many great railway systems converge at the Federal Capital. There are good roads near most of the towns, which is not the case in the other Provinces, and good auto roads lead from Buenos Aires to Tigre and to La Plata.
South of the Provinces, at least below Buenos Aires, is what was once called Patagonia, now divided into Territories.
La Pampa Central, a Territory which extends farther north, is already from its population entitled to be a Province. Lying south of Mendoza, San Luis, and Córdoba, it has Buenos Aires on the east, Rio Negro Territory south, with the Colorado River as the dividing line; and west, Neuquen and Mendoza. The Territory is undulating, with hills, valleys, prairie, and lakes; the soil is generally fertile, yielding fine crops; wheat, corn, barley, linseed, alfalfa, vines, fruits. Large herds of cattle roam over the pastures but are usually sent out for fattening.
Neuquen, south of Mendoza, borders on Chile, has Rio Negro south, and also with La Pampa, east. The north and east parts are arid, but the west mountain section has fine fertile valleys and forests, with many rivers and lakes. A railway now making this section accessible, it will be more attractive to settlers.
Rio Negro, first of the divisions of Argentina to stretch across the country, has Neuquen and La Pampa on the north, Buenos Aires and the Atlantic east, Chubut south, and Chile and Neuquen west. The section between the Negro and Colorado Rivers is fertile, also patches near other streams; wherever irrigated, good crops of wheat, corn, oats, and alfalfa are certain. Fruits and vines do well in the Negro Valley. Excellent timber is exported in beams and planks. There are some towns and many agricultural colonies; trade goes on with Chile in cattle and sheep. Several rivers are navigable and a railway has been constructed from the port San Antonio to Lake Nahuel-Huapi.
Chubut, south of Rio Negro, also extends across from the Atlantic to Chile, with Santa Cruz on the south. The central part has little vegetation but in the west are fertile valleys, and good grazing for cattle and sheep. There are millions of each, and many horses. Cereals and alfalfa are also raised in the east, with temperate zone fruits and berries. Near the oil fields of Comodoro Rivadavia is excellent farming land under cultivation. In this section there is now great activity on account of the petroleum development; some railways have been constructed and one is expected soon to cross the country. There is trade in wool and hides; gold, copper, and salt exist.
Santa Cruz, the largest division next to Buenos Aires, south of Chubut, has the Atlantic on the east and Chile on the south and west. The northwest is rather barren and rocky, with dense forests farther south; but near the coast and south of the Santa Cruz River are fine pastures supporting great flocks of sheep. There are many rivers and lakes, several, like the Buenos Aires, on or near the Chilian boundary. Wool, frozen mutton, and timber are exported.
Tierra del Fuego has the Atlantic Ocean on the north, east, and south, with the Chilian part of the island on the west. This triangular part of the island is mountainous, but has sheltered valleys, good pasturage, and vast forests with excellent timber, to some extent exploited. There are large flocks of sheep; the gold and copper deposits are unworked except for washing the sands. The capital, Ushuaiá, on the Beagle Channel, is a small penal colony.