SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO, chief town of the province of Santiago in the Argentine Republic, is situated in 27°

46' S. lat. and 64° 19' W. long., 520 feet above the sea, on the banks of the Rio Dulce. It is the residence of the provincial governor and the seat of the legislature, and it ranks as the oldest European city in the republic, having been founded by Aguirre in 1552. The most conspicuous building is the cathedral, whose dome contrasts strangely by its size and evident costliness with the poverty of the rest of the town. The population is about 8000 (most of whom have a great deal of Indian blood in their veins). The railway from Rosario to Santiago (689 miles) was opened in 1884.