Corrientes Province

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Corrientes
Province
Flag
Coat of arms
Divisions 25 departments
Capital Corrientes
Area 88,199 km² (34,054 sq mi)
Population 930,991 (2001)
Density 10.6 /km² (27 /sq mi)
Governor Arturo Colombi
 - Senators Isabel Viudes, Dora Sánchez, Roberto Ríos
ISO 3166-2 code AR-W
Demonym correntino
Website: http://www.corrientes.gov.ar

Corrientes, Spanish for "currents" or "rapids," is a province in northeast Argentina, in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by (from the North, clockwise): Paraguay, the province of Misiones, Brazil,Uruguay,and the provinces of Entre Rios, Santa Fe and Chaco.

Contents

[edit] History

Before the arrival of the Spanish conquest, the Guaraní lived in a big area that also covered most of the current province of Corrientes. The city of Corrientes was founded on April 3, 1588 by Juan Torres de Vera y Aragón as a mid-stop between Asunción and Buenos Aires; the city flourished thanks to the traffic from the route. Jesuits erected missions in the north of the province, where they dedicated themselves to the expansion of the faith.

In the wars of independence from Spain, Corrientes joined Artigas' Liga de los Pueblos Libres (1814–1820). The attack of Paraguayan forces on the province in 1865 marked the start of the War of the Triple Alliance.

In 1819 the Universidad Nacional del Litoral was founded, which in 1956 became the Universidad Nacional del Nordeste.

Corrientes 3 centavos stamp, 1860.
Corrientes 3 centavos stamp, 1860.

Corrientes is legendary in the world of philately for the postage stamps it issued from 1856 to 1880. These are among the very early or "classic" postage stamps of the world (the first, from Great Britain, were issued in 1840; those by the United States in 1847). The Corrientes stamps were close copies of the first issue of stamps from France, which depicted the profile head of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, and were individually crudely engraved by hand, so that each die is noticeably different, and were printed in small sheets. The first issues, from 1856 to 1860, bore the denomination in the lower panel; in 1860, the value panel was erased; the different denominations thereafter being indicated by the color of the paper used. As locally produced "primitives", the early Corrientes stamps have long been prized by collectors. After 1880, stamps of Argentina were used. [1]

[edit] Culture

Culture in Corrientes has been primarily informed and influenced by its European roots,a example of this chamamé music and dance.

Famous correntinos were independence hero General José de San Martín (born in 1778 in Yapeyú), and Juan Bautista Cabral (born in Saladas), who (according to popular legend) gave his life for the General in the Battle of San Lorenzo.

Tourist destinations in the Corrientes Province include the Iberá Wetlands and the Mburucuyá National Park.

On 28 September 2004, provincial Law No. 5598 declared Guaraní to be an official language of Corrientes, alongside Spanish.

[edit] Geography and climate

As part of the subtropical area of Mesopotamia, the province has heavy rains and high temperatures with little daily and seasonal variation specially in the North, and no dry season. The Southern part of the province presents some signs of the neighbouring more temperate weather of the Pampas.

Corrientes is surrounded by two rivers, the Uruguay River to the east, and the Paraná River to the northwest, that contour the shape of the province. The low shore of the Paraná produces frequent floodings. After the specially destructive one in 1982, a protective system has been started with the construction of barriers.

The province is for the most part a plain, with the highest points in the east. To the west, a series of descending platforms go down to the Paraná River. The Iberá Wetlands, an area of lagoons and swamps, is a vast depression from volcanic flow, covered later with fluvial and eolic sediments.

[edit] Economy

Agriculture is one of the main activities in the province, centred in citrus, tobacco, rice, yerba mate, tea and cotton. The timber industry uses 1,400 km² of pine and eucalyptus forests.

Bovine cattle has problems standing the heat and the low quality of the grass specially in the north of the province. For that reason, the Brangus breed is the most common in the area. In the south, different breeds can be found. 70,000 km² of the province's land are used for more than 4 million heads of cattle.

Of the province net production, tobacco represents 45% of the gross income, food and derivates 30% and textiles 16%.

On the Paraná River, near the city of Ituzaingó, the Yaciretá dam provides energy not only to the province, but to both Argentina and Paraguay.

Tourism is becoming to grow in Corrientes Province due to the relavance that Esteros del Ibera are having with all nature, conservation and birdwatching travelers.

[edit] Political division

The province is divided into 25 departments (departamentos):

Department (Capital)

  1. Bella Vista Department (Bella Vista)
  2. Berón de Astrada Department (Berón de Astrada)
  3. Capital Department (Corrientes)
  4. Concepción Department (Concepción)
  5. Curuzú Cuatía Department (Curuzú Cuatiá)
  6. Empedrado Department (Empedrado)
  7. Esquina Department (Esquina)
  8. General Alvear Department (Alvear)
  9. General Paz Department (Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Caá Catí)
  10. Goya Department (Goya)
  11. Itatí Department (Itatí)
  12. Ituzaingó Department (Ituzaingó)
  13. Lavalle Department (Lavalle)
  14. Mburucuyá Department (Mburucuyá)
  15. Mercedes Department (Mercedes)
  16. Monte Caseros Department (Monte Caseros)
  17. Paso de los Libres Department (Paso de los Libres)
  18. Saladas Department (Saladas)
  19. San Cosme Department (San Cosme)
  20. San Luis del Palmar Department (San Luis del Palmar)
  21. San Martín Department (La Cruz)
  22. San Miguel Department (San Miguel)
  23. San Roque Department (San Roque)
  24. Santo Tomé Department (Santo Tomé)
  25. Sauce Department (Sauce)

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Louis Stich, Corrientes: the Issues from 1856-80, The Collectors Club, New York, 1957.
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