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Chaco Province
Chaco is an Argentine province located on the north of the country, near the border with Paraguay. Its capital is Resistencia on the Parana River opposite the city of Corrientes. The second city of the province is Saenz Pena.
The province is bounded by Salta and Santiago del Estero to the west, Formosa to the north and east, Corrientes and the Republic of Paraguay to the southeast and Santa Fe to the south. From 1950 to 1955, Chaco was named Presidente Peron.
History
Chaco is a Quechua word for hunting, which was the main source of food for the aboriginal people prior to the Spanish colonisation of the Americas. Several native tribes have persisted in the region and have important communities in this province as well as Formosa.
First city in Chaco province was Concepcion de Buena Esperanza, which existed between 1585 and 1632. During its life was one of the most important cities in its gobernation, but local indians attacked it until local inhabitants had to leave it. In the 17th century the San Fernando del Rio Negro Jesuit mission was founded in the area of the present city of Resistencia, but it was abandoned 15 years later.
At the end of the 19th century there were numerous confrontations between Argentina and Paraguay in the Gran Chaco area known as the War of the Triple Alliance, and San Fernando was reestablished, this time as a military outpost, and renamed to Resistencia in 1876.
In 1872 Territorio Nacional del Gran Chaco was created, this territory included current Formosa province and lands that now belong to Paraguay. In 1884 because of the split of this administrative division Territorio Nacional del Chaco was born. In 1951 the territory became a province, changing its name to Eva Peron province; the province recovered its historical name in 1955, when the army overthrew Juan Domingo Peron government.
Between the end of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th, the province received a variety of immigrants; among them were Volga Germans and Mennonites from Russia, Germany, and Canada. They (along with the other immigrants) were able to transform the difficult geography of Chaco into a productive farming region known for its milk and beef production.
Geography and climate
The province lies in the Gran Chaco plains, also known as the Green Hell for its extreme weather conditions. Frequent droughts make for desert-like parts of the geography. Yet, torrential rains and occasional floods create areas of rainforest habitat.
Differences in vegetation show the unequal distribution of precipitation: An Impenetrable ("Impenetrable") dense dry forest lies in the west, with precipitations of around 600 mm per year, and the more humid east, with 1,100 mm annual precipitation, holds the Selva Chaquena, a jungle with no dry season.
The rivers of the province end in either the Parana River or the Paraguay River, and run from west to east. The most important of these are the Bermejo River, Rio de Oro, Guaycuru Grande, Guaycuru Chico, Salado River, Negro River, Palometa and Tapenaga.
The area is inhabited by exotic wildlife, including crocodiles, monkeys, tarantulas, wild boars, jaguars, giant armadillos, anacondas, rattlesnakes, and a variety of other poisonous snakes.
Transport: Major highways include 11 north from Santa Fe province north via Resistencia to Formosa, 16 across the Parana from Correntes 322 km north-west via Resistencia and Presidencia Roque Saenz Pena into Santiago del Estero province, and passing through Taco Pozo in the north-east to Salta, and 89 from Avia Terai 245 km south-west via Charata to Quimili in Santiago del Estero province.
There is an airport at Resistencia.
Economy
Development in Chaco is linked to the quebracho wood, and the cotton production, which currently accounts for 60% of national production.
Agriculture in the region includes crops such as soy, sorghum and maize. Sugar cane is also cultivated in the South, as well as rice and tobacco in lesser proportion.
Cattle consists of mixed races of Argentine cows with zebu, which adapt better to the high temperatures, grass shortage, and occasional flooding.
Industry includes textiles (produced from local cotton), oil mills, and coal production, as well as sugar, alcohol and paper (all produced from sugar cane).
Chaco is home to the Chaco National Park, but tourism is not a developed industry in the province.
Political division
The province is divided in 25 departments (Spanish departamentos).
Department (Capital)
Almirante Brown (Pampa del Infierno)
Bermejo Department, Chaco (La Leonesa)
Chacabuco (Charata)
Comandante Fernandez (Presidencia Roque Saenz Pena)
Doce de Octubre (General Pinedo)
Dos de Abril (Hermoso Campo)
Fray Justo Santa Maria del Oro (Santa Sylvina)
General Belgrano (Corzuela)
General Donovan (Makalle)
General Guemes (Juan Jose Castelli)
Independencia (Campo Largo)
Libertad (Puerto Tirol)
Libertador General San Martin (General Jose de San Martin)
Maipu (Tres Isletas)
Mayor Luis Jorge Fontana (Villa Angela)
Nueve de Julio (Las Brenas)
O'Higgins (San Bernardo)
Presidente de la Plaza (Presidente de la Plaza)
Primero de Mayo (Margarita Belen)
Quitilipi (Quitilipi)
San Fernando (Resistencia)
San Lorenzo (Villa Berthet)
Sargento Cabral (Colonia Elisa)
Tapenaga (Charadai)
Veinticinco de Mayo (Machagai)
See also
Napalpi massacre
External links
Official website (Spanish)
Pictures of Chaco
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Chaco Province
