Itapúa () is a department in the southern region of

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

. The capital is the city of Encarnación. It is divided into 30 districts, more than any other department in the country.

History

This department was created after the breakup of the

Misiones Department Misiones () is a Departments of Paraguay, department located in the southern region of Paraguay. Its capital is San Juan Bautista, Paraguay, San Juan Bautista. The eighth of Paraguay's 17 departments, it was created in 1906, then known as the ' ...

, with the city of Encarnación as the capital. It had high economic growth in the first 30 years of the arrival of immigrants and the Carlos Antonio Lopez Railway; the growth was accompanied by several ups and downs. An era of decline followed until the 1950s when the Carnaval Encarnaceno became better known and attracted tourists from various regions. In the 1980s the department became more industrial, but modestly so compared with other departments like the

Central Department Central () is a Departments of Paraguay, department in Paraguay. The capital is Areguá. With 1,883,927 inhabitants, it is the most populated of the 17 departments of Paraguay. It is also the smallest department, with a total area of . Geogra ...

. In 1989 the Yacyretá Dam displaced the people living in the Yacyretá Reservoir; the displacement still continues. The San Roque González de Santa Cruz Bridge was inaugurated in 1991, connecting not only the city of Encarnación and Posadas, but also Paraguay with

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Toponymy

The name is in Guaraní and refers to the place where Encarnación, the current capital city, was founded. The site was known as "''itá''" (rock, stone) and "''punta''" (tip); hence the name means "Tip of the Stone".

Demography

According to the 2002 National Census Itapúa has a total population of 453,692 inhabitants making it the third-most populated department of the country after Central and

Alto Paraná Alto Paraná (; ''Upper Paraná'') is a Department (subnational entity), department in Paraguay. The capital is Ciudad del Este (formerly known as Puerto Presidente Stroessner, originally Puerto Flor de Lis). The Alto Paraná department has exper ...

. 8.9% of Paraguay's total population lives in this department.

Cultural diversity

Much of the Itapúa region was colonized by immigrants from different origins, among them the

Italians Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

, French,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese,

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

, and also immigrants from

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

and

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

in more recent times. Because of this cultural diversity Itapúa was given the name "

Melting pot A melting pot is a Monoculturalism, monocultural metaphor for a wiktionary:heterogeneous, heterogeneous society becoming more wiktionary:homogeneous, homogeneous, the different elements "melting together" with a common culture; an alternative bei ...

", making it the most cosmopolitan department of Paraguay. In the beginning, the first major economic activity of the immigrants was the exploitation of natural resources, especially

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

, in the Alto Paraná and San Rafael Hills (now a national park). Nowadays, residents are engaged in several thriving industries, including

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

(soybean, tung, corn, etc.) and

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

Geography

Location

This department is located southeast of the Eastern Region of Paraguay.

Limits

* North: the departments of

and

Caazapá Caazapá () is a city in Paraguay, founded in 1607, by Friar Luis de Bolaños. It is located in the Caazapá District and is the capital of the Caazapá Department. There are five neighbourhoods called "Barrios" in the city: Then main one is the ...

. * South: with Argentina (

Provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

of Misiones and Corrientes). Separated by the

Paraná River The Paraná River ( ; ; ) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. ...

. * East: the Argentine Republic (Misiones Province). * West: with the

Climate

The climate is humid

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

with a tendency to low temperatures, the annual average is 15 °C, with a maximum of 40 °C and a minimum of -3 °C. Rainfall is abundant, with an annual average of nearly 1,700 mm, recorded throughout most of the year except in July and August.

Administrative division

The department is divided into the following 30 districts: Mapa Itapua Paraguay con Nombres

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Itapua Department Guaraní words and phrases