MISIONES

isolated province of northeastern Argentina. Misiones lies between the Paran River and Paraguay to the west, the Iguau (Iguaz) River (and tributaries) and Brazil to the north, the Uruguay River (and tributaries) and Brazil to the east and southeast, and the Corrientes province of Argentina to the southwest. Its area of 11,506 square miles (29,801 square km) is mostly a 6502,600-foot- (200800-metre-) high basalt continuation of the Paran Plateau of Brazil. The province's rough terrain is covered mostly by subtropical evergreen rain forest and is accented by canyons, rivers, and low ranges of the Victoria, Imn, and Misiones mountains. The province contains Iguaz National Park, which, with an area of 121,600 acres (49,200 hectares), includes part of Iguau Falls. One of the world's largest and most impressive cataracts, Iguau Falls descends 269 feet (82 m) over a distance of 1.7 miles (2.7 km). The region received its name from the Jesuit missions established among the Guaran Indians there in the 17th and 18th centuries. It became an Argentine territory after years of dispute with Paraguay and Brazil and the Paraguayan War of 186470. In 1882 it received territorial status and acquired its capital, Posadas (q.v.), from Corrientes province. Colonization of the land, beginning in the 1880s by assorted ethnic groups (including Poles, Ukrainians, Japanese, Brazilians, German-Brazilians, and Germans), continued into the mid-20th century. In 1953 the territory gained provincial status. The principal economic staple is mat (Paraguayan tea), followed by lumber, tung oil, tea, and cassava (manioc). Industry, centred in Posadas, deals primarily with wood processing. Jesuit mission ruins and Iguau Falls are popular tourist attractions. Pop. (1986 est.) 690,000.