The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Salta

SALTA. I. A N. W. province of the Argentine Republic, bordering on Bolivia and the provinces of Jujuy, Santiago, Tucuman, and Catamarca; area, 50,000 sq. m.; pop. in 1869, 85,959. It is traversed in almost every direction by spurs of the Andes, the flattened crests of which form in the west and northwest a series of plateaus, some as high as 12,000 ft. above the sea, with peaks rising much higher. Among the numerous rivers are the Juramento, San Francisco, and Bermejo, the last forming the boundary with the Gran Chaco. The soil is fertile, and wheat, barley, maize, cotton, coca, coffee, yerba maté or Paraguay tea, and excellent wines are produced. The great forests yield many kinds of valuable wood. Gold, silver, copper, and iron are found, and porcelain clay is abundant. Wine, rum, sugar and molasses, dried and preserved fruits, and the wool and skins of the vicuña, llama, and alpaca are exported. Salta is divided into 21 departments. II. A city, capital of the province, in the low valley of Chicoana, between two mountain chains, about 820 m. N. W. of Buenos Ayres; pop. in 1869, 11,716. It is regularly laid out, with good streets and neat houses. The public schools were attended in 1869 by 2,885 pupils, of whom 1,231 were females. The climate here is less salubrious than almost anywhere else in the province. This city was founded in 1582 by Abreu, under the name of San Clemente de la Nueva Sevilla, in the valley of Siancas; in 1584 it was transferred to its present site, and at first called San Felipe de Lerma.