Argentina--part: Misiones, Entre Rios,¹ Corrientes, Santa Fe,² Chaco and Formosa Provinces

How is the land laid out?

Most of this area is in the pampas: treeless, grassy plains, which are higher in the west than the east. Misiones³ Province is in the Paraná Plateau.

Three rivers dominate. The Uruguay (Uruguai) flows along the Brazilian and Uruguaian border to empty into the Rio de la Plata. the Paraná⁴ flows along the western border of Misiones and the northern border of Corrientes⁵ Provinces, then turns southward to bisect the rest of the area. It also ends at the Rio de la Plata estuary. When it turns south, the Paraná receives the Paraguay from the north. That river separates Formosa and Chaco from Paraguay. Two of its right bank tributaries are the Brazo Sur⁶ and the Bermejo. The Salado⁷ is the Paraná's main right bank tributary within Argentina.

On the national border of Misiones State with Brasil (Brazil) are the falls of the Iguazú (Iguaçu) River, which, with the surrounding national park comprise a natural UNESCO World Heritage Site, popular with tourists.⁸ The city of Puerto Iguazú (population 82 thousand⁹) and its airport, one of the nation's busiest,¹⁰ provide access.

Map

Who lives there?

Nearly eight million people live here, nearly all of them speaking Spanish and practicing Roman Catholic Christianity. UNESCO honors the proselytizing in its UNESCO World Heritage Site for the Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis.¹¹

The only city with a million or more residents is Rosario.

Who was there before?

Before the Spanish arrive, there were people who a few linguists group as Amerindian. Of these, the Tupi-Guarani and Lule-Vilela groups were found in today's Misiones Province and the Mataco-Guaicuru¹² ones elsewhere.

The most remembered feature of any of the former religions was the ritual cannibalism of the Guarani.

Around the Area

north and east of Misiones, and southeast of Misiones and Corrientes
southeast of southeastern Corrientes, and east of Entre Rios
south
west
northeast of Formosa, southeast of Formosa and Chaco, north of Corrientes, and northwest of Misiones

Footnotes

1. Translates from Spanish as Between Rivers (referring to the lands between the Paraná and the Uruguay rivers.
2. Translates from Spanish as Holy Faith (referring to Christianity).
3. Translates from Spanish as Missions (referring to Christian proselytizing).
4. South America's second largest river.
5. Translates from Spanish as Current or Flow or Stream.
6. Translates from Spanish as South Arm.
7. Translates from Spanish as Salty.
8. touropia.com/tourist-attractions-in-argentina/, accessed April 30, 2016.
9. 2010 figure from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_Argentina_by_population, accessed July 5, 2016.
10. http://www.anna.aero/2012/04/12/argentinas-regional-airports-see-traffic-growth/, accessed April 30, 2016, table: Top 10 domestic routes (all ex-AEP) with a note above it: "41% of domestic capacity is concentrated in Buenos Aires AEP, which remains the main hub. In fact, all 10 of the largest domestic routes by frequency involve this airport, as detailed below." supplemented (for airport names) by: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_airports_in_Argentina, accessed the same day. The airport's name is Catarataas del Iguazú International.
11. The sites are: San Igancio Min&iac ute; Santa Ana; Nuestra Señra de Loreto; and Satna María la Mayor, all in Misiones State.
12. Sometimes called the Guaycurun Family. The Tupi-Guarani and Mataco-Guaicuru are sometimes grouped together as Andean-Equatorial.