Río Negro Province
| Río Negro | |||
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| Province | |||
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| Coordinates: 40°48′S 63°00′W / 40.800°S 63.000°WCoordinates: 40°48′S 63°00′W / 40.800°S 63.000°W | |||
| Country | Argentina | ||
| Capital | Viedma | ||
| Divisions | 13 departments | ||
| Government | |||
| • Governor | Alberto Weretilneck | ||
| • Senators | Silvina Gacía Larraburu, Miguel Ángel Pichetto, Magdalena Odarda | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 203,013 km2 (78,384 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2010) | |||
| • Total | 638,645 | ||
| • Rank | 15th | ||
| • Density | 3.1/km2 (8.1/sq mi) | ||
| Demonym(s) | Rionegrino | ||
| Time zone | ART | ||
| ISO 3166 code | AR-R | ||
| Website | rionegro |
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Río Negro (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈri.o ˈneɣɾo], Black River) is a province of Argentina, located at the northern edge of Patagonia. Neighboring provinces are from the south clockwise Chubut, Neuquén, Mendoza, La Pampa and Buenos Aires. To the east lies the Atlantic Ocean.
Its capital is Viedma. Other important cities include the ski resort town of Bariloche, Cipolletti and General Roca.
Ferdinand Magellan was the first explorer to visit the coasts of the provinces in 1520. Priest Nicolás Mascardi founded the Jesuit mission Nuestra Senora de Nahuel Huapi in 1670 at the shore of the Nahuel Huapi Lake, at the feet of the Andes range.
Originally part of the Argentine territory called Patagonia (in 1878 the Gobernación de la Patagonia), in 1884 it was organised into the Territorio Nacional del Río Negro and General Lorenzo Vintter was appointed as the territory's first governor. It was only in 1957, that Río Negro acquired status of a province; its first provincial governor was Edgardo Castello of the Radical Civic Union (UCR).
Río Negro is one of the six provinces that make up Argentine Patagonia. It is bounded to the north by the Colorado River which separates it from La Pampa Province, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean and to the west by the Andes and the Limay River (serves as the natural border with Neuquén Province). The 42nd parallel south marks the southern limit of the province. With an area of 203,013 square kilometres (78,383.8 sq mi), it is the 4th largest province by area.
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