Cordoba
a central province of the Argentine Republic, mostly pampa land, rising to the Sierras de Cordoba and de Pocho in the W. Area, 62,160 square miles. Pop. about 770,000. Copper and silver are mined, but cattle-raising and agriculture are the chief industries. The climate is healthy, but very dry; the temperature ranges from 18° to 107° F. The capital, Cordoba, lies in the valley of the Rio Primero, 246 miles W. N. W. of Rosario. It is regularly built, with open watercourses running through the streets, has street railways, a cathedral with a fine Moorish exterior, numerous other CORELLI churches, a handsome city hall, the old university building, with walls from 4 to 6 feet thick, a national observatory, and noble baths. The university (1613) sank greatly after the expulsion of the Jesuits (1767), until in 1870 several German professors settled here. The town possesses also a national college, a school of art, and an academy of sciences, which publishes a valuable "Boletin." Founded by Cabrera in 1573, th town was famous during the Spanish occupation as a seat of learning and the center of the Jesuit missions in South America. Pop. about 105,000.