Embarcación (Salta) is a town and municipality in

Salta Province Salta () is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the east clockwise Formosa, Chaco, Santiago del Estero, Tucumán and Catamarca. It also surrounds Jujuy. To the north it borders Bolivi ...

in northwestern

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

.Ministerio del Interior

Overview

The area was originally inhabited by the Wichí, who hunted and fished along the

Bermejo River The Bermejo River (Spanish, Río Bermejo) is a river in South America that flows from Bolivia to the Paraguay River in Argentina. The river is generally called Bermejo in spite of its different names along its way, but it also has its own Nativ ...

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

established the first European outposts in the area, fostering commerce along the Bermejo's northern banks and in the vicinity of what later became Embarcación. The outpost was informally known by that name, meaning "boat" due to its strategic location north of the confluence of the Bermejo and San Francisco Rivers. The site later belonged to Celedonia Reyes de Prado, who sold the land to a partnership between the Leach brothers and Dr. Carlos Serrey on July 12, 1909. These partners parceled the land as 48 lots of roughly one hectare (2.5 acres) each. The arrival of the Central Northern Rail line on November 28, 1911, led to the rapid sale and development of the lots. Hitherto a subdivision of

San Ramón de la Nueva Orán San Ramón de la Nueva Orán (usually referred to simply as Orán) is a city in northwest , about from the provincial capital, Salta. It is the head town of the Orán Department, and it has about 73,000 inhabitants as per the , which makes it th ...

, the Municipality of Embarcación was established on December 29, 1915. The town's civic offices and first school were inaugurated in 1917, and in 1929, the Provincial Bank of Salta opened a local branch. Adopting San Roque as the town's

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 ...

, Embarcación had a hospital inaugurated in his honor in 1938, and the Catholic Parish, built in the 1960s, is so named as well. The 1931 completion of the rail link to the city 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 territori ...

led to its nickname of ''el Portal de Salta'' ("the Gateway to Salta"). The town became home to 13 schools and six radio stations, as well as Universal Video Cable, a local television station established in 1982. Though it developed a sizable commercial sector,

horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

and related activities remain the leading employers in Embarcación. Salvita, a local fruit and vegetable packaging and distribution firm, was established by Salvador Muñoz, and is the leading buyer for the area's growers. The largely agrarian town, where 70% of residents lived in

substandard housing A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily i ...

at the 2001 census, embarked on a significant

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...

agenda in 2010.Embarcación: La nueva ciudad

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Embarcacion (Salta) Populated places in Salta Province Populated places established in 1915