Corrientes (; Guaraní: Taragui, literally: "Currents") is the capital city of the

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

of Corrientes,

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 ...

, located on the eastern shore of 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. ...

, about from

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

and from Posadas, on National Route 12. It has a population of 346,334 according to the 2010 Census. It lies opposite its twin city, Resistencia, Chaco. Corrientes has a mix of colonial and modern architecture, several churches and a number of lapacho, ceibo,

jacaranda ''Jacaranda'' is a genus of 49 species of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas while cultivated around the world. The generic name is also used as the common name. The species ' ...

and orange trees. It is also home to one of the biggest

carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

and chamamé celebrations in the country. The annual average temperature is . The annual rainfall is around .

Transportation

Located in the Argentine Littoral, near the

Argentina–Paraguay border The Argentina–Paraguay border is the line that limits the territories of Argentina and Paraguay. This boundary is solely defined by three major rivers: the Pilcomayo River, Pilcomayo, Paraná River, Paraná and Paraguay River, Paraguay, being on ...

, the General Belgrano Bridge crosses the

which serves as the natural border with the neighbouring

Chaco Province Chaco (; Wichi languages, Wichi: ''To-kós-wet''), officially the Province of Chaco ( ) is one of the 23 provinces of Argentina, provinces of Argentina. Its capital and largest city is Resistencia, Chaco, Resistencia. It is located in the north- ...

. On the other side of the bridge is Resistencia, capital of Chaco. To the west and up the Paraná, between

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 ...

and Argentina, lies the Yaciretá dam, one of the largest

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

power generators in the world. The Doctor Fernando Piragine Niveyro International Airport at coordinates , away from the city, serves the city. The Ferrocarril Económico Correntino narrow gauge railway line to Mburucuyá operated from 1912 until 1927.

History

Sebastian Cabot established in 1527 the ''Sancti Spiritu'' fort upstream of the

, and in 1536 Pedro de Mendoza reached further north into the basin of the river, searching for the ''Sierras of Silver''. Juan Torres de Vera y Aragón founded the city on April 3, 1588, and named it as ''San Juan de Vera de las Siete Corrientes'' ("Saint John of Vera of the Seven Currents"), which was later shortened to ''Corrientes''. The "seven currents" refer to the seven

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

s on the shore of the river at this place, that produced wild currents that made difficult the navigation of the river through this part. Nevertheless, its position between

Asunción Asunción (, ) 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 Asunción in the north ...

- in present

- and

made it an important middle point, especially because of its 55-metre-high lands that prevent flooding when the water level rises. In 1615

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

settled near the

Uruguay River The Uruguay River ( ; ) is a major river in South America. It flows from north to south and forms parts of the boundaries of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, separating some of the Argentine provinces of La Mesopotamia from the other two countr ...

. In 1807 the city resisted the British invasions. During the

Argentine War of Independence The Argentine War of Independence () was a secessionist civil war (until 1816) fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli, Martín Miguel de Güemes, Martin Miguel de Guemes and José de ...

it was in permanent conflict with the centralist government of

, but the

Paraguayan War The Paraguayan War (, , ), also known as the War of the Triple Alliance (, , ), was a South American war that lasted from 1864 to 1870. It was fought between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, the Empire of Brazil, and Uruguay. It wa ...

united them after the city was attacked by

an forces in 1865.

Climate

The annual average temperature is . The annual rainfall is around . The

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

subtype for this climate is ''Cfa'' (

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

). Frosts are rare; with the dates of the first and last frost being July 5 and July 12 respectively, indicating that most of the year is frost-free. The highest temperature recorded was on September 30, 2020, and the next day, the all-time record was broken again with . The lowest temperature ever recorded was on June 15, 1979.

Education

* National University of the Northeast * University of Cuenca del Plata

Sister cities

Corrientes is twinned with: * Encarnación, Paraguay * Estepa, Spain

In fiction

The

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a re ...

spy novel Spy fiction is a genre of literature involving espionage as an important context or plot device. It emerged in the early twentieth century, inspired by rivalries and intrigues between the major powers, and the establishment of modern intellig ...

'' The Honorary Consul'' (1973) takes place in Corrientes.

Sports

The city's main

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

teams are the: Huracán Corrientes, Boca Unidos, and Deportivo Mandiyú.

Notable people

* Augusto Aguirre, (born 1999), footballer * José Ruiz Aragón, (born 1987), politician * Aldo Araujo, (born 1992), footballer * Rafael Barrios, (born 1993), footballer * Jonathan Benítez, (born 1991), footballer * Alejandro Bentos, (born 1978), footballer * José Bilibio, (born 1975), Armenian footballer * Sebastián Crismanich, (born 1986), Olympic taekwondo athlete * Héctor Echagüe, (born 1988), footballer * Héctor Echavarría, (born 1969), martial artist and actor * Carlos Espínola, (born 1971), windsurfer and politician * Silvio Fogel, (1949–2016), footballer * Guillermo Franco, (born 1976), Argentine-Mexican footballer * Ramona Galarza, (1940–2020), singer * Juan Garat, (born 1973), tennis player * Luciano Gómez, (born 1996), footballer * Antonio Gonzaga, (born 1875), cook and author * Ricardo González, (born 1969), golfer * Marcelo Herrera, (born 1998), footballer * Martina Iñíguez, (born 1939), writer * Angelo Ibarra, (born 1999), footballer * Leonardo Jara, (born 1991), footballer * Manuel Lagraña, (1821–1882), politician * May Simón Lifschitz, Danish-Argentinian actress * Joaquín Madariaga, (1799–1848), politician * Leonardo Mayer, (born 1987), tennis player * Alberto Márcico, (born 1960), footballer and manager * Júnior Mendieta, (born 1993), footballer * Héctor Morales, (born 1989), footballer * Yiya Murano, (1930–2014), serial killer * Carlos Muzzio, (born 1984), rugby union player * Hilario Navarro, (born 1980), footballer * Martín Ojeda (footballer, born 1997), (born 1997), footballer * Marcelo Ortiz, (born 1994), footballer * Teresa Parodi, (born 1947), singer and songwriter * Fabián Ponce, (born 1971), footballer and manager * Ramón Héctor Ponce, (1948–2019), footballer * Gabriel Ramírez, (born 1995), footballer * Pedro Braillard Poccard, (born 1954), politician and lawyer * Gonzalo Rovira, (born 1988), footballer * Nancy Sand, (born 1964), politician * Raúl Scalabrini Ortiz, (1898–1959), writer, journalist, essayist, poet * Juan Pablo Segovia, (born 1989), footballer * Edgardo Simón, (born 1974), cyclist * Gustavo Valdés, (born 1968), politician * Julián Velázquez, (born 1990), footballer * Agustín Velotti, (born 1992), tennis player * Isabel Viudes, (born 1944), politician

Gallery

File:Norte_de_la_Ciudad_de_Corrientes.jpg, Corrientes, Argentina File:Vista_aérea_hacia_la_Playa_Arazaty.jpg, View of the Corrientes waterfront (Playa Arazaty) File:Conjunto_Urbano_Plaza_25_de_Mayo_08.JPG, Downtown Corrientes, Argentina File:Corrientes_Montage.jpg, Corrientes, Argentina File:Punta_San_Sebastía.jpg, Saint Sebastian Point, Corrientes, Argentina File:Plaza 25 de mayo Corrientes.jpeg, May 25 square, Corrientes File:Palacio San Martín Corrientes.jpeg, The Provincial Ministry of the Economy File:Iglesia_Catedral,_Corrientes.jpg, Corrientes Cathedral, Argentina File:Lontra longicaudis 4.jpeg, River otter and toy, Corrientes Zoo

References

External links

* MCC *
Sights
(English)

{{Authority control Populated places established in 1588 Populated places in Corrientes Province Capitals of Argentine provinces Paraná River Cities in Argentina