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Home > Travel Central America > Central America Destinations > Chaco
Chaco
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is variably defined either as being a region of the Americas in its own right or as the southern portion of North America. Physiographically, Central America is a tropical isthmus that connects North and South America. It includes 7 countries and many small offshore islands. Overall, the land is fertile and rugged, and dominated through its heart by a string of volcanic mountain ranges with a few active volcanos.
Chaco is an Argentine province located on the north of the country, near the border with Paraguay. Its capital is Resistencia on the Parana River opposite the city of Corrientes. The second city of the province is Saenz Pena. The population of Chaco was 984,446 in the year 2001 with an area of 99,633 square kilometers and it’s population density was 9.9 per square kilometers.
The province is bounded by Salta and Santiago del Estero to the west, Formosa to the north and east, Corrientes and the Republic of Paraguay to the southeast and Santa Fe to the south. From 1950 to 1955, Chaco was named Presidente Juan Peron. Chaco is a Quechua word for hunting, which was the main source of food for the aboriginal people prior to the Spanish colonisation of the Americas. Several native tribes have persisted in the region and have important communities in this province as well as Formosa.
The province lies in the Gran Chaco plains, also known as the Green Hell for its extreme weather conditions. Frequent droughts make for desert like parts of the geography. Yet, torrential rains and occasional floods create areas of rainforest habitat. The rivers of the province end in either the Parana River or the Paraguay River, and run from west to east.
The area is inhabited by exotic wildlife, including crocodiles, monkeys, tarantulas, wild boars, jaguars, giant armadillos, anacondas, rattlesnakes, and a variety of other poisonous snakes. Development in Chaco is linked to the quebracho wood, and the cotton production, which currently accounts for 60 percent of national production. Agriculture in the region includes crops such as soy, sorghum and maize. Sugar cane is also cultivated in the South, as well as rice and tobacco in lesser proportion.
Chaco is home to the Chaco National Park, but tourism is not a developed industry in the province. The province is divided in 25 departments. Chaco is one of the favorite holiday destinations for most of the vacation lovers.
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