LA PAMPA

provincia, central Argentina, immediately west of Buenos Aires provincia and geographically straddling drier sections of the Pampa (northeast) and semiarid sections of the Patagonian Desert (southwest). Its western and southern parts are comprised of low-lying tablelands (with a broad depression in the central west) occasionally broken by hillocks, saline marshes and lakes, and intermittent streambeds. The western part of La Pampa, in particular, is sparsely inhabited, while the plains of the northeast are more fertile and suited for the grazing of cattle and sheep and the cultivation of wheat and corn (maize). Occasional severe droughts make agriculture uncertain, however. Not until after it was made a national territory in 1884 were there renewed efforts to extend the frontier and encourage European immigration. La Pampa attained provincial status in 1952, and from that time until the overthrow of President Juan Pern (1955), the area was known by his wife's name, Eva Pern. Millet, sorghum, and sunflowers are also cultivated. The port of Baha Blanca, in Buenos Aires provincia, serves as an outlet for the area's produce. Santa Rosa (q.v.), the provincial capital, and General Pico are the only important towns in La Pampa. Petroleum is extracted in the extreme southwest. Area 55,382 square miles (143,440 square km). Pop. (1989 est.) 237,000.