Misiones

Misiones, isolated provincia (province) of northeastern Argentina. Misiones lies between the Alto (Upper) Paraná River and Paraguay to the west, the Iguazú (Iguaçu) River (and tributaries) and Brazil to the north, the Uruguay River (and tributaries) and Brazil to the east and southeast, and Corrientes province of Argentina to the southwest. The southwestern city of Posadas is the provincial capital.

The area of Misiones is mostly a basalt continuation of the Paraná Plateau of Brazil, lying at elevations of 650 to 2,600 feet (200 to 800 metres). The province’s rough terrain is covered mostly by subtropical evergreen rainforest and is accented by canyons, rivers, and low ranges of the Victoria, Imán, and Misiones mountains. The province contains Iguazú National Park, which, with an area of 190 square miles (492 square km), includes part of Iguazú Falls, one of the world’s largest and most spectacular cataracts. The park and its counterpart in Brazil, Iguaçu National Park, were designated UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1984 and 1986, respectively.

The region received its name from the Jesuit missions established among the Guaraní Indians there in the 17th and 18th centuries. Five of those missions (San Ignacio Miní, Santa Ana, Nuestra Señora de Loreto, and Santa María la Mayor in Argentina and the ruins of São Miguel das Missões in Brazil) were collectively designated a World Heritage site in 1983. It became an Argentine territory after years of dispute with Paraguay and Brazil and the War of the Triple Alliance of 1864/65–1870. In 1882 it received territorial status and the city of Posadas from Corrientes province. Colonization of the land, beginning in the 1880s by assorted ethnic groups (including Poles, Ukrainians, Japanese, Brazilians, German Brazilians, and Germans), continued into the mid-20th century. In 1953 the territory gained provincial status.

The principal economic staple is the shrub Ilex paraguariensis, which is used to make the tealike beverage maté (Paraguayan tea); also important are lumber, tung oil, tea, and cassava (manioc). Industry, centred in Posadas, focuses primarily on wood processing. The ruins of Jesuit missions and Iguazú Falls are popular tourist attractions. Area 11,506 square miles (29,801 square km). Pop. (2001) 965,522; (2010) 1,101,593.