tamarca. Pop. (1895) 351,223;
(1904, estimate) 465,464; area, 62,160 sq. m. The greater part of the
province belongs to the pampas, though less fertile and grassy than the
plains farther E. and S. It likewise includes large saline and swampy
areas. The N.W. part of the province is traversed by an isolated
mountain system made up of the Cordoba, Pocho and Ischilin sierras,
which extend for a distance of some 200 m. in a N. and S. direction.
These ranges intercept the moist winds from the Atlantic, and receive on
their eastern slopes an abundant rainfall, which gives them a strikingly
verdant appearance in comparison with the surrounding plains. West and
N.W. of the sierras are extensive saline basins called Las Salinas
Grandes, which extend into the neighbouring provinces and are absolutely
barren. In the N.E. the land is low and swampy; here are the large
saline lagoons of Mar Chiquita and Los Porongos. The principal rivers,
which have their sources in the sierras and flow eastward, are the
Primero and Segundo, which flow north-easterly into the lacustrine basin
of Mar Chiquita; the Tercero and Quarto, which unite near the Santa Fe
frontier to form the Carcarana, a tributary of the Parana; and the
Quinto, which flows south-easterly into the swamps of the Laguna Amarga
in the S. part of the province. Countless small streams also descend the
eastern slopes of the sierras and are lost in the great plains. The
eastern districts are moderately fertile, and are chiefly devoted to
cattle-breeding, though cereals are also produced. In the valleys and
well-watered foothills of the sierras, however, cereals, alfalfa and
fruit are the principal products. The rainfall is limited throughout the
province, and irrigation is employed in but few localities. The mineral
resources include gold, silver, copper, lead and iron, but mining is
carried on only to a very limited extent. Salt and marble are also
produced. Cordoba is traversed by several railway lines--those running
westward from Buenos Aires and Rosario to Mendoza and the Chilean
frontier, those connecting the city of Cordoba with the same cities, and
with Tucuman on the N. and Catamarca and Rioja on the N.W. The chief
towns are Cordoba, the capital, Rio Quarto, Villa Maria, an important
railway centre 82 m. S.E. of Cordoba, and Cruz del Eje on the W. slopes
of the sierras, 110 m. N.W. of Cordoba.

CORDOBA, a city in the central part of the Argentine Republic, capital
of th