Santiago del Estero

Santiago del Estero, a north central province of the Argentine Republic, with an area of 39,510 sq. m. and a pop. (1886) of 150,000. Except for a few insignificant sierras, it forms a vast plain, inclining gently from the north-west to the south-east. In the south-west and elsewhere there are great salt marshes. The only rivers are the Salado and Dulce; agriculture (sugar, maize, wheat, grapes, cotton, tobacco) depends mainly on irrigation. Cattle-farming is a leading industry.—The capital, Santiago, on the Rio Dulce, 750 miles by rail NNW. of Buenos Ayres, was founded in 1553, has a national college and a normal school, and a pop. of 10,000.