Santa Fe, Argentina

	Cities and towns; in Argentina
	Santa Fe
Province	Santa Fe
Department	La Capital
Location	31°38′S 60°42′W / 31.633°S 60.7°WCoordinates: 31°38′S 60°42′W / 31.633°S 60.7°W
Population	369,046
Demonym	santafesino
Area	748 km²
Density	493.37 inhab/km²
CPA base	S3000
Phone code	+54 342
Mayor	Mario Barletta
Party	Progressive, Civic and Social Front

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Santa Fe City Hall.

Offices of the Governor of Santa Fe.

Pedestrianized San Martín Street.

Santa Fe is the capital city of province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It sits in northeastern Argentina, near the junction of the Paraná and Salado rivers. It lies opposite the city of Paraná, to which it is linked by the Hernandarias Subfluvial Tunnel. The city is also connected by canal with the port of Colastiné on the Paraná River. Santa Fe has about 369,000 inhabitants as per the 2001 census [INDEC]. The metropolitan area has a population of 454,238, making it the ninth largest in Argentina.

Santa Fe is the commercial and transportation center for a rich agricultural area that produces grain, vegetable oils, and meats. The city is the seat of the Catholic University of Santa Fe (inaugurated in 1959), the National University of the Littoral (first founded as the Provincial University in 1889, and which changed to its current name in 1919), several museums, and a number of buildings erected during colonial times.

Santa Fe is linked to Rosario (170 km to the south), the largest city in the province, by the Brigadier Estanislao López Highway and by National Route 11, which continues south towards Buenos Aires.

[edit] History

Santa Fe railway station, 1905; today the long distance bus station.

Santa Fe Municipal Theatre.

Santa Fe was originally founded in the nearby site of Cayastá (where there is an historical park containing the burial place of Hernandarias, the first American-born governor in South America) in 1573. It was moved to the present site in 1653 due to the constant flooding of the Cayastá River. The city became provincial capital in 1814, when the territory of the province of Santa Fe was separated from the province of Buenos Aires by the National Constituent Assembly.

The city in its current location is still not immune to flooding. On 29 April 2003 the Salado, which empties into the Paraná near Santa Fe, rose almost 2 m in a few hours following heavy rainfall, and caused a catastrophic flood. No fewer than 100,000 people had to be evacuated, and large sections of the city remained under water more than a week later.

[edit] Climate

The city has a climate considered as "Humid Subtropical" or "Cfa" by Köppen classification. Winters are generally mild, though minimum temperatures can fall below 0°C (32°F) on cold nights during the winter . Summers are generally hot and humid. During the most extreme heat waves, temperatures have exceeded 45°C (113°F). Temperatures have exceeded 35°C (95°F) in every season)^[1].

Rainfall can be expected throughout the year though summer is usually the wettest season. Thunderstorms can be intense with frequent lightning, powerful downdraughts and intense precipitation.

Weather averages for Santa Fe, Argentina
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	32.7 (91)	30.7 (87)	28.4 (83)	24.4 (76)	21.3 (70)	17.3 (63)	17.1 (63)	19.5 (67)	21.3 (70)	25.5 (78)	28.1 (83)	30.8 (87)	24.8 (77)
Average low °C (°F)	20.7 (69)	20.0 (68)	18.3 (65)	14.8 (59)	11.4 (53)	7.7 (46)	7.6 (46)	9.4 (49)	10.5 (51)	14.3 (58)	17.2 (63)	19.2 (67)	14.3 (58)
Precipitation mm (inches)	106.0 (4.17)	132.1 (5.2)	138.6 (5.46)	96.1 (3.78)	61.6 (2.43)	24.3 (0.96)	29.8 (1.17)	29.6 (1.17)	59.9 (2.36)	100.8 (3.97)	107.0 (4.21)	104.6 (4.12)	990.4 (38.99)
Source: Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (Argentine Meteorological Service) (NB: Data from the period 1981-1990)^[2] Jan 2008

[edit] The City

Suspension bridge over the Setubal lake and the city.

Santa Fe has a lot of important commercial centres, busy cultural life, interesting options in sports and tourism, numerous artistic and musical events, and an exciting nightlife.

There is an important infrastructure for tourism developed due to the building of highways and a subfluvial tunnel and, together with the beauty of the landscape and the various attractions that tourists can enjoy make them feel pleased to choose this region to spend their holidays. Hunting, fishing, excursions, walks by the river, practising water sports on the River Paraná (18 km away via Nº168 National Road), visiting the Space Observation Centre or the Zoo- Experimental Station of "La Esmeralda" Farm, make the tourist feel amazed and eager to know more about the region.

In a nutshell, Santa Fe offers a complete and varied shade of attractions that make one dive into history when visiting monuments, museums or find oneself in the beautiful parks, rivers and streams surrounded by wild flora and fauna.