Buenos Aires

Largest province, both in terms of area and population, in Argentina; area 308,758 sq km/119,211 sq mi; population (1996) 307,571 (both figures excluding the federal capital). The capital is located at La Plata. The province has a river coastline on the Río de la Plata (River Plate), in the northeast, of about 240 km/149 mi, and in the east and south an Atlantic coastline of nearly 1,600 km/994 mi.The chief agricultural products of Buenos Aires province are cereals, particularly wheat, maize, sorghum, and flax; other crops include fruit and vegetables. Cattle- and sheep-rearing are important, as are the timber industry and the mining of granite, gypsum, sand, limestone, and quartzite.

The province contains a third of the country's population, excluding the inhabitants of the federal capital itself. Economically, it is by far the country's most important province, both for its agricultural produce and industrial manufactures. Industrial capacity is concentrated in the city of Buenos Aires and its environs, including the suburbs of Avellaneda, Quilmes, and the towns of La Plata, General San Martín, and San Nicholas.

The land surface of Buenos Aires province is a vast monotonous grass-covered plain, the only hills being in the southwest, well-watered by sluggish rivers and some lakes, none of which can be used for transport. The summers are hot and the winters warm, and the rainfall adequate for cultivation. Snow and frosts are very rare. The soil is extremely fertile, being a deep stoneless loam. There are no natural woodlands.