Magdalena () is a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the headquarters town for the

Magdalena Partido Magdalena Partido () is a partido in the northeastern part of Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. The provincial subdivision has a population of about 16,000 inhabitants in an area of , and its capital city is Magdalena, which is from Buenos ...

History

Founded in 1611, the hamlet grew slowly until the late nineteenth century. The Parish of Santa María Magdalena ( Mary Magdalene), consecrated in 1776, inaugurated its current temple in 1860. The

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...

City Hall, designed by Pedro Cavalli, was completed in 1877, and the Teatro Español, in 1899. The nearby Parque Costero del Sur, site of the ''El Ancla''

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, ...

settlement, was declared a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

in 1984. The largest freshwater oil spill in history occurred on January 15, 1999 after the German ship Sea Paraná hit the Estrella Pampeana ship of the

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

company. More than 30,000 cubic meters of

hydrocarbon In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and hydrophobic, and their odors are usually weak or ...

s were spilled, along with 5.4 million litres of oil floating on the waters of the

Rio de la Plata Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

. This ruined the ecosystem of the surrounding areas, and tourism does not exist anymore. In 2002, the municipality filed a claim for 35 million dollars to the Shell company, but it was not backed up by the

national National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

or provincial governments. As a compromise, the company agreed to pay 10 million dollars and aid to the town. The two sides agreed to sign on those terms, but the money and "aid" have still not been received. The lack of help is still prevalent in the town whose waters are now only used for residents who choose to bathe in them.

References

Municipal website
Populated places in Buenos Aires Province Populated places established in 1611 {{BuenosAiresAR-geo-stub