RIVERS

Argentina is unique in its rivers. It has some of the largest and longest navigable rivers in the world and at the same time it has numerous rivers without any outlet to the sea that sink into the earth and disappear. Except in the mountains, the rivers, like those of the southern portion of the United States, are generally impregnated with fine silt and are muddy. Many of the streams and rivers that do not reach the sea, end in lagoons or swamps, leaving a deposit of fine mud that dries up in summer and is distributed by the wind. The heavier material, loose sand,, is blown up in great moving sand dunes.

The principal river of Argentina and one of the great rivers of the world is La Plata, or "silver river." It is formed by the junction of the Parana and the Uruguay Rivers, about 25 miles above the city of Buenos Aires. It is shallow, and is navigated by ocean-going ships through a narrow canal, which must be kept clear by constant dredging. The tides are low and the coast lines are flat. The greatest changes in level and depth are caused by prevailing winds.

THE PARANA AND ITS TRIBUTARIES

The Parana is one of the two principal tributaries of the La Plata. It rises in the mountains of southeastern Brazil, 600 miles or more northeast of the Argentine frontier, where it is joined by the Iguazu. Some 6 or 8 miles above the junction of these two rivers are the celebrated falls of the Iguazu, which rank among the highest and largest in the world. The total length of the Parana River from its source to the La Plata is approximately 1,425 miles, disregarding numerous curves. In general appearance it is similar to the Mississippi. It is several miles wide for a distance of about 500 miles in its lower course and is navigable by ocean-going steamers half that distance. For boats of smaller draft, it is navigable for more than 1,000 miles.

The principal tributary of the Parana is the Paraguay River, which rises in the south central part of Brazil and flows south to join the Parana, an airline distance of approximately 1,550 miles.

The Parana and Paraguay Rivers have furnished the principal means of communication with the sea and the outer world for south central Brazil, Paraguay, and a large portion of the Argentine interior since the days of the early Spanish settlements. They still form the principal trade route, as there is only one railroad line from Asuncion to Buenos Aires. Rosario, on the Parana River 250 miles north of Buenos Aires, ranks second in size as a city and as a port for the export of cereals and other products to Europe.

The delta of the Parana is formed by islands, channels, and canals, and is about 120 miles long by 30 miles wide at its mouth. It is subject to inundations one or more times a year and the soil is exceedingly fertile. Large quantities of fresh vegetables, peaches, quinces, plums, grapes, oranges, and tangerines are grown for the Buenos Aires market, and many of the islands are covered with a dense growth of planted Lombardy poplars, that are used for making fruit and vegetable crates and for fuel.

The second great tributary of the La Plata is the Uruguay River, which forms the eastern boundary between Argentina and Uruguay

and a portion of southern Brazil. It is about 800 miles long in an air line, is navigable for several hundred miles, and furnishes a water route for both eastern Argentina and western Uruguay.

The majestic river system of La Plata and its tributaries drain the northern half of Argentina, the southern half of Bolivia, the southern third of Brazil, all of Paraguay, and the western half of Uruguay, a territory more than 600 miles wide and 1,200 miles long, containing about 720,000 square miles. This great region is nearly equal to the whole of the United States east of the Mississippi River (856,120 square miles). It is larger than the combined areas of France, Germany, Spain, and Italy (716,516 square miles). The Parana is very near to 10 miles wide. From Buenos Aires to Rosario, a distance of about 250 miles, it is navigable for ocean-going steamers drawing about 21 feet at low water; from Rosario to Santa Fe, a distance of 75 miles, by boats drawing 19 feet; and for smaller boats it is navigable to Posada, a further distance of 450 miles, or to Concepcion, about 550 miles. The Pilcomayo and Bermejo are navigable by small boats for several hundred miles at certain seasons. The Uruguay is navigable for ocean steamers as high up as Concordia, about 180 miles from its mouth, and by smaller boats 150 miles farther.

South of Buenos Aires is the curious river of Salado, which rises in the central Province of Cordoba and seeps its way through marshy spaces in the Pampa to the ocean, more than 400 miles southeast. At very few points in its course would it be recognized as a river or stream. It has no perceptible current and is really a succession of reed-grown lagoons and marshes, inhabited by countless numbers of water fowl. It varies in width according to the season and rainfall from a few hundred feet to several miles. It meanders through a prairie region of great fertility and probably the time will come when it will be economic to provide artificial drainage.

Except for the Rio Salado, there are no rivers that reach the sea south of the La Plata until the Rio Colorado is reached, about 100 miles south of Bahia Blanca, and still farther south is the Rio Negro. Neither of these rivers is navigable. Both flow through semidesert regions and the quantity of water discharged varies greatly with the season. A railroad and irrigation works have been constructed along the Rio Negro, and fruit growing and alfalfa, especially for seed, have developed rapidly.

LAKES

The most important and picturesque lakes of Argentina are situated in the Andes Mountains west of Patagonia. There are 50 or more of these Andean lakes, generally narrow, relatively long and deep, with clear blue or green water, lying between high mountains with heavily wooded slopes. Their total combined area is approximately 1,500 square miles. The largest of these lakes are Nahuel Huapi, San Martin, Viedma, Argentino, Ftalauquen, Buenos Aires, General Paz, La Plata, and Fontana. Most of them are from 1,000 to 3,000 feet above sea level and lie in an east to west, or northwest to southeast direction.

LAGOONS

The eastern half of the Province of Buenos Aires is dotted with shallow lagoons, many of them impregnated with salt, and there are millions of acres of rich virgin land rendered unfit for cultivation by standing water only a few inches in depth or by inundations that follow heavy rains. This accounts for the fact that the eastern half of the Province of Buenos Aires is so largely devoted to pastures for livestock, although the soil is fertile and there is abundant railway transportation to nearby ports. Among the larger lagoons is Mar Chiquita, in the Province of Cordoba, and to the north is another area of about 250 square miles covered with lagoons and swamps. Another large area, 100 miles long by 50 miles wide, lies near the Saladillo River, between the cities of Santiago del Estero and Salavina. The lagoon Llancanalo, south of the River Atuel in Mendoza and La Pampa, is nearly 40 miles long by 10 or more miles wide. The lagoon Bebedero in San Luis, is really a marsh about 25 miles long by 18 miles wide, which sometimes almost dries up. It has solid deposits of salts, principally sulphate of soda, potassium, and magnesia. These salts are mined at certain seasons, with a production of about 5,000 tons per month.

The largest alkali region of Argentina is found in Las Salinas Grandes, between the mountains of Cordoba and those of Catamarca, a region which covers about 7,000 square miles. This depression is only about 150 feet above sea level and is surrounded on all sides by higher elevations. It is a sterile, arid, desert region, covered with shallow water at rare intervals, which quickly evaporates leaving the soil covered with a coating of alkali.

In the northwestern part of the Province of Corrientes, a short distance east of the Parana River and approximately 350 miles north of the city of Buenos Aires in an air line, is the Gran Laguna del Iberá. In places this lagoon is nearly 100 miles north and south and the same distance east and west, so that it probably covers about 10,000 square miles. This great lagoon has never been thoroughly explored. It is in a semitropical region with a heavy annual rainfall, and the lagoon is full of floating islands and dense vegetation.

UNDERGROUND WATER

One of the problems of a large part of Argentina is that of obtaining pure water free from excessive quantities of salts and suitable for drinking purposes for man and beast. The first deep well was dug in Buenos Aires in 1861 to a depth of 958 feet. A few years later another deep well was dug near Beazley and water was not encountered before reaching a depth of more than 3,000 feet. Through a large portion of the Pampa country good water is generally found at depths of from 100 to 500 feet, and often much nearer to the surface. Practically every house in the country towns of the Pampa region has its own well and windmill, and the large estates have a well, windmill, and tank for each subdivision of the estate. In portions of Chaco and Santiago del Estero to the north it is necessary to bring water in by train for use in the locomotives, for the population of the towns, and for the sawmills and other enterprises that use steam engines as a motive power. In the Provinces east of the Parana, where the geological formation is different from that of the Pampa,

and in a strip 100 miles or more wide west of the Parana, an abundant supply of subsoil water is found near the surface.

NATURAL REGIONS

There are four characteristic regions of considerable extent and importance in Argentina.

THE PAMPA

The Pampa of Argentina is a region similar to portions of the Great Plains country west of the Mississippi, especially portions of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. It includes all of the Province of Buenos Aires and the Territory of La Pampa, and portions of Santa Fe, Cordoba, San Luis, Mendoza and Neuquen. It is an immense region and is so nearly flat that only rarely can any sign of an elevation or depression in the surface be detected, and so smooth that for hundreds of miles there is no break in the surface by gully, creek, brook, or river. The surface is covered with native grasses and weeds, alfalfa pastures, or grainfields. The atmosphere is usually clear. The Pampa extends from the eastern coast westward to the Andes, a distance of 600 miles, and from the Rio Negro northward to the mountains of Cordoba and the timber line in northern Santa Fe, a distance of approximately 500 miles. The only trees seen in this region are a few native trees along the Parana River, calden woods in the western part of the Territory of La Pampa, native trees near the mountains of Cordoba, and groves of trees that have been planted about the farm and ranch houses and buildings. The western portion of the Pampa is semiarid, but the eastern half has ample rainfall and constitutes the great pastoral and cereal belt of Argentina, in which approximately 80 per cent of the crops and livestock of the Republic are produced. It is the most important region in Argentina and is dotted with cities and towns and covered with a network of railways.

MEDITERRANEAN

This region is almost entirely surrounded by rivers-La Plata on the south, the Parana on the west, the Uruguay on the east, and the Upper Parana on the north. It comprises the Provinces of Entre Rios and Corrientes and the Territory of Misiones. It is different from the flat Pampa and Chaco country, from which it is separated by the Parana River, in that it has an undulating, rolling surface with many small streams, often with a narrow belt of trees on both sides, and in general appearance it is like portions of Texas and Oklahoma. It has more rain than the Pampa and generally the soils are less fertile. The southern half has a climate similar to that of the Pampa, but the northern portion is subtropical like the Chaco. It produces about 10 per cent of the grain and flaxseed of the Republic, but the principal industry is livestock raising. Considerable quantities of tobacco, peanuts, and citrus fruits are grown, especially in the north, and in the east-central portion near Concordia is a flourishing fruit industry, especially grapes and citrus fruits. Cotton is beginning to be grown in the north. This region is not so well populated or so well provided with railways as the Pampa and there is great room for agricultural development,