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Formosa () is the capital city of the
Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...
province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
of
Formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island country located in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, formerly known in the Western political circles, press and literature as Formosa, makes up 99% of the land area of the territorie ...
, on the banks of the
Paraguay River The Paraguay River (Río Paraguay in Spanish, Rio Paraguai in Portuguese, Ysyry Paraguái in Guarani) is a major river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. It flows about from its headwaters in ...
, opposite the Paraguayan city of Alberdi, about north from
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, on National Route 11. The city has a population of about 234,000 per the . Formosa is the hub of the provincial industry, that processes the product of its natural resources. The port that serves Paraguay towards the
Paraná River The Paraná River ( es, Río Paraná, links=no , pt, Rio Paraná, gn, Ysyry Parana) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Br ...
is the main transport means for the provincial production. Notable sights of the city include the ''Nuestra Señora del Carmen'' Cathedral, the Government House, the ''Torelli'' Botanic Forest Garden, the Provincial History Museum (''Museo Histórico Provincial''), the ''Estadio Centenario'' ("Centenary Stadium")
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
stadium, the ''Guaicole'' fauna reserve, the shore of the
Paraguay River The Paraguay River (Río Paraguay in Spanish, Rio Paraguai in Portuguese, Ysyry Paraguái in Guarani) is a major river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. It flows about from its headwaters in ...
, the ''Isla de Oro'' Island, and the Central Square named after
José de San Martín José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras (25 February 177817 August 1850), known simply as José de San Martín () or '' the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru'', was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and cent ...
.


History

The lands were initially inhabited by the
Toba Toba may refer to: Languages * Toba Sur language, spoken in South America * Batak Toba, spoken in Indonesia People * Toba people, indigenous peoples of the Gran Chaco in South America * Toba Batak people, a sub-ethnic group of Batak people from ...
and
Wichí The Wichí are an indigenous people of South America. They are a large group of tribes ranging about the headwaters of the Bermejo River and the Pilcomayo River, in Argentina and Bolivia. Notes on designation This ethnic group was named by the En ...
(Mataco) indigenous peoples. On April 8, 1879 Commander
Luis Jorge Fontana Luis Jorge Fontana (born April 19, 1846 in Buenos Aires, Argentina; died October 18, 1920 in San Juan, Argentina) was an Argentine military officer, explorer, geographer, writer, and politician. He was the first governor of the national territory ...
founded the settlement that would become the capital of the National Territory of Chaco from 1884 to June 15, 1955, when it gained the status of province. The Formosa campus of the
National University of the Northeast The National University of the Northeast (Spanish: ''Universidad Nacional del Nordeste'', UNNE) is an Argentine national university. It is located in the cities of Corrientes and Resistencia, capital cities of the Provinces of Corrientes and Ch ...
was established as the
National University of Formosa The National University of Formosa ( es, Universidad Nacional de Formosa, UNF) is an Argentine national university, situated in the city of Formosa, capital of Formosa Province. Its precursor, the University Institute of Formosa, was establish ...
in 1988. The name of the city (and the province) comes from the archaic
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
word ''fermosa'' (currently ''hermosa'') meaning "beautiful". The name ''Vuelta Fermosa'' or ''Vuelta la Formosa'' was used by Spanish sailors in the 16th century to describe the area where the
Paraguay River The Paraguay River (Río Paraguay in Spanish, Rio Paraguai in Portuguese, Ysyry Paraguái in Guarani) is a major river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. It flows about from its headwaters in ...
makes a turn, right in front of the actual city. These sailors were searching for the legendary
Sierra de la Plata The Sierra de la Plata ("Mountain of Silver") was a mythical source of silver in the interior of South America. The legend began in the early 16th century when castaways from the Juan Díaz de Solís expedition heard indigenous stories of a mount ...
.


Culture

The city, which is only a few hundred meters away from Paraguay across the river, has a culture closer to that of Paraguay than the "
porteño In Spanish, the term (feminine: ''Porteña'') means "port city person". It is used to refer to residents of port cities such as Buenos Aires, Argentina; El Puerto de Santa María, Spain; Valparaíso, Chile; Mazatlán, Veracruz, Acapulco and Tam ...
" culture of Buenos Aires. Laid back and relaxed, its young people relax on the Costanera, the recently restored pathway along the Río Paraguay which serves as a venue for arts displays and features a fast-food restaurant, or at boliches, local clubs. The city's well-known cultural institutions include the Formosa Regional Historical Museum, the Juan Pablo Duffard Historical Museum (a National Historic Monument), the Qomp
Toba Toba may refer to: Languages * Toba Sur language, spoken in South America * Batak Toba, spoken in Indonesia People * Toba people, indigenous peoples of the Gran Chaco in South America * Toba Batak people, a sub-ethnic group of Batak people from ...
Artisanal Museum, and the Oscar Albertazzi Arts Institute. The city has, since the 1970s, enjoyed increasing domestic tourism as a winter destination and, since the devaluation of the
peso The peso is the monetary unit of several countries in the Americas, and the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries the peso uses the Dollar sign, same sign, "$", as many currencies na ...
in 2002, growing international tourism, as well. Formosa is currently home to one five-star hotel (the International Tourist Hotel) and four four-star hotels. One other five-star establishment, the Howard Johnson Neo Formosa, was completed in July 2011 and features a casino and shopping gallery. 23,000-capacity Estadio Don Carlos Antonio Romero, used mainly for association football, is the main venue in Formosa.


Festivals

Formosa celebrates Our Lady of Carmen (''Nuestra Señora del Carmen''), its
patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
, on July 16 in honor of its holy day. Celebrations, which occur in the main Plaza San Martín, include the traditional pericón dance and stalls selling everything from food to balloons. It also celebrates the Fiesta del Río in November, Carnaval on weekends in February and Día de la Fundación de Formosa in April.


Transport

Located in the Argentine Littoral, Formosa is well connected to the rest of the country, the most used ways to go to and from Formosa, are through: *The Formosa Bus Terminal Station, which goes to medium and long distances, with great passenger movement throughout the year. Several national and international transport companies operate in the city, whose most common destinations are
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
,
Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous ci ...
,
Corrientes Corrientes (; Guaraní language, Guaraní: Taragüí, literally: "Currents") is the capital city of the Provinces of Argentina, province of Corrientes Province, Corrientes, Argentina, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, about from ...
, Resistencia, Córdoba, Mendoza, Posadas,
Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Argentine province of the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the 7th most-populous city in Argentina. The city serves as the cultural and economic ce ...
and Clorinda-
Asunción Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of ...
. *The El Pucú Airport , 7 kilometres south of the city , serves charter flights, and regular flights to Buenos Aires. *The Port of Formosa, with boat services to and from Alberdi,
Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
. The
General Belgrano Railway The General Manuel Belgrano Railway (FCGMB) (Spanish: Ferrocarril General Manuel Belgrano), named after the Argentine politician and military leader Manuel Belgrano, is a railway and the longest of the Argentine system. It was one of the six ...
, which is currently not in operation. In the branch near the port, its tracks were dismantled and the building where the station was located was converted into a museum, while the sheds of its mechanical workshops were converted into a large fair. *The Public and Semi-public Transportation of Passengers: the city of Formosa has modern transportation units, reaching international standards, also providing the user with air conditioning and wifi while traveling; There are also taxi and remiss agencies. From Buenos Aires, the highways to take are the: National Route A011, National Route 86 and National Route 12.


Geography


Climate

The city has a climate considered as
humid subtropical A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
or ''Cfa'' by
Köppen classification Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author an ...
. The city's climate is among the hottest and most humid in Argentina: Winters are generally mild, air frosts are very uncommon. Summers are hot and humid. During the most extreme
heat waves A heat wave, or heatwave, is a period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity, especially in oceanic climate countries. While definitions vary, a heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the ...
, temperatures exceed . Temperatures have exceeded in every
season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
. Summers are long, hot and sticky, with most days between ; temperatures up to are common, and nights are usually between . Cooler temperatures only arrive by late April, and winters are warm: highs average , lows average . However, these averages are reached through a pattern that switches from hot, northerly winds, to cold southerly winds, and so forth: with northerly winds, temperatures are often much hotter, between and nights are mild, around . Southerly winds often bring a period of drizzly, cold weather with temperatures that stay around for a day or two (which, combined with the high humidity and the winds can feel surprisingly cold), followed by clear skies, cold nights () and pleasant days at . Light frost is possible in Formosa, especially in the outskirts of the city further away from the river; however, air temperatures seldom fall below , every few years at most, with a record low of . The highest temperature recorded was on October 17, 2014 while the lowest temperature recorded was on July 29, 2021. Rainfall can be expected throughout the year though summer is usually the wettest season.
Thunderstorms A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are someti ...
can be intense with frequent
lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...
, powerful gusts of wind and intense
precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
.


Sister cities

*
Asunción Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of ...
, Paraguay *
Bella Unión Bella Unión is a city in the north part of Artigas Department of Uruguay. History The original settlement was founded on 13 May 1829 under the name "Santa Rosa". It was started by Fructuoso Rivera, who played a prominent role in the early histo ...
, Uruguay


Images

File:Casa_de_Gobierno_building_in_central_Formosa.jpg, Formosa Provincial Government building, in spotlight File:Catedral_Nuestra_Señora_del_Carmen_-_ciudad_de_Formosa_01.jpg, Cathedral of Our Lady of Carmen, in Formosa File:CostaFormoseña.jpg, Riverwalk File:City_of_Formosa,_Argentina.jpg, Panorama of the City File:Sendero_en_plaza_de_El_Colorado,_Formosa.JPG, Plaza in El Colorado, Formosa, Argentina File:Formosa_skyline_from_river.jpg, Formosa skyline from the
Paraguay River The Paraguay River (Río Paraguay in Spanish, Rio Paraguai in Portuguese, Ysyry Paraguái in Guarani) is a major river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. It flows about from its headwaters in ...
File:Puente_Riacho_Formosa.jpg, Riacho Bridge, Formosa, Argentina File:Vista_Costanera_-_panoramio.jpg, Formosa costanera, Argentina


Notable people

* Franco Llamas, footballer


References


External links

* (Spanish) *
National University of Formosa
(Spanish) {{Authority control Populated places established in 1879 Populated places in Formosa Province Capitals of Argentine provinces Cities in Argentina