SANTA FE, a central province of Argentina, bounded north by the Chaco territory, east by Entre Rios and Corrientes, south by Buenos Aires, and west by Cordoba and Santiago del Estero. Area, 52,056 sq. miles. Pop. (1914) 899,640 (1934 estimate) 1,420,042. Santa Fe belongs to the great pampa region of Argen tina, and has no wooded districts in the south except on the river courses. In the north, which is borderland to the Gran Chaco re gion, there are extensive forests, intermingled with grassy cameos. The surface Is a level alluvial plain, with a saline substratum at no great depth. Salt is found on the surface over large areas, and throughout the province the water is brackish 15 to 20 ft. below the surface. The soil, however, produces wheat, corn, alfalfa, lin seed and other crops in abundance. Stock-raising (cattle, horses, sheep and swine) is also an important industry, with the related in dustries of butter and cheese-making, meat-curing and lard-refin ing. Many colonies have been made, especially near the provin cial capital. It is one of the most productive provinces in the republic, in spite of notorious misgovernment. The Parana forms its eastern boundary for about 435 m., and provides unfailing
transport facilities. The great river, however, is broken into many channels, forming islands and sand bars which are con stantly changing their outlines. It receives two large tributaries flowing across the province—the Salado, the upper course of which is called the Pasage and Juramento (the last given to com memorate the circumstance that the oath to wrest their indepen dence from Spain was sworn on its banks in 1816), and which enters the Santa Fe channel of the Parana near the capital ; and the Carcarafia, or Carcaralial, whose sources are in the Cordoba sierras. The northern districts are well drained by numerous trib utaries of the Salado. The railway communications of the prov ince are good, comprising the trunk lines of the Buenos Aires and Rosario railway with its extension to Tucuman, which crosses the province from south-east to north-west ; the Central Argen tine from Rosario to C6rdoba, and to Buenos Aires; the Cordoba Central; Santa Fe to Tucuman; and Provincia de Santa Fe, and the Buenos Aires and Pacific which crosses near its south ern boundary. Small railway lines connect the important towns.