SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO, one of the provinces of the Argentine Confederation, South America, lies between 27° and 30' S. lat., 61° and 65° W. long. It is bounded S. by the province of Cordova ; S.E. by that of Santa F6. from which it is separated by the Laguna Salados do los Porongos ; E. by the desert tract known as El Gmn Chaco; N. by the province of Tucuman ; and W. by that of Catamarca, from which it is separated in part by the desert tract called the Gran Salinas. The area is about 70,000 square miles; the population is under 50,000.
The province of Santiago comprehends the western part of the Gran Salinas, the country between the Rio Dulce and the Rio Salado, south of 27° S. lat., and also a large tract of the Gran Chaco, to the east of the Rio Salado. The surface of the country and its hydrography arc described generally under ARGENTINE CONFEDERATION. It is for tho greater part a level country, but it extends on the south-west towards the hilly region surrounding the Sierra de Cordova. The climate is considered to be the hottest in South America. By far the larger part of the country is very infertile. The good land is of comparatively small extent, and almost entirely limited to a narrow tract along both sides of the river Dulce and a still smaller tract on the banks of the Salado. Though the soil is sandy, it has great fertility in the neigh bourhood of the river, producing plentiful crops of maize and wheat, and some good grass. Where it is not cultivated, it is mostly covered
with large trees. In the deserts which surround the cultivated tract that species of cactus on which the cochineal insect lives (Carta,' opuntia) grows to an extraordinary size, and is very abundant. For merly a considerable quantity of cochineal (from S000 to 10,000 lbs. annually) was sent to Peru and Chili. A large quantity of wild bees wax and honey was also collected in the woods; but since the occur rence of the civil dissensions these pursuits have been almost entirely abandoned. Some districts have good pasturage. Among the inhabitants are many Indians who speak the Quichua language, and manufacture ponchos (cloaks) and coarse saddle-cloths or blankets. Some soda is extracted on the borders of the Gran Salinas from tho salsola. Like the other provinces of the Argentine Confederation, Santiago is a federal state, owning a qualified dependence on the central government. The executive power is vested in a governor elected by the junta, or provincial assembly.
Santiago del Estero, the capital of province, is situated on the right bank of the Rio Dulce, in 27° 47' S. lat., 64° 3' W. long., popu lation about. 4000. It is a straggling ill-built place, but is the emporium of the little internal and foreign trade which the province now possesses. ilfaiara is a small place on the Rio Salado, where it begins to be navigable.