Santa Fe << SAN tuh FAY >> (pop. 391,164) is a commercial and shipping center in east-central Argentina. It lies on the west bank of the Parana River at the mouth of the Salado River. The city is the capital of the province of Santa Fe.
Santa Fe has several churches and convents dating from the 1600’s, when it was a Jesuit missionary center. A tunnel under the Parana River links Santa Fe with the city of Parana. At Santa Fe’s large docks, oceangoing ships load with such exports as copper, dairy products, flour, grain, leather, and zinc. The National University of the Littoral is in Santa Fe. Settlers from Asuncion, in what is now Paraguay, founded Santa Fe near its present site in 1573. But the present site was not permanently occupied until 1651.
