Buenos Ayres

(bō'nds d'riz.) [Sp., "Good airs."] A p. of the Argentine Confederation, in S. America, extending from the Rio Negro, on the S., in Lat. 41° S., to the p. of Santa Fé, on the N., in Lat. 33° S., and on the W. from the Atlantic to the upper waters of the Talquin River. Length, E. to W., abt. 750 m.; breadth, N. to S., abt. 540 m. Area, 63,000 sq. m. Surf. A level plain of vast extent; forming the immense Pampas, as they are called, perhaps the finest pasture-lands in the world. Exp. Cattle, horses, and their products. This p. seceded in 1854, and returned to the Federal Union in1860. Pop. 495,107.-BUENOS AYRES, C. of above p., and also of the Argentine Republic, on the S.W. shore of La Plata sæstuary, 125 m. W. by N. of Monte Video. It is rectangularly built, with its houses surrounded by gardens, and has a multiplicity of churches and religious houses. The commerce of B. A. is perhaps the most extensive of any S. American port, trading as it does with all parts of the civilized world. B.A. was founded by the Spaniards under Mendoza in 1534. Pop. 177,787; including 41,957 Italians, 13,998 Spaniards, 13,402 French men, 2,139 Germans, 542 Austrians, and 603 citizens of the U. States. [s. 122]