The great river country to the north is full of interest, but reference can only be made to one subject--the famous Falls of Iguazu. These Falls were known and described by Padre Lozano, but political troubles and the general backwardness of the north after the expulsion of the Jesuits caused them to be forgotten. Now the Government is alive to the possibilities of using them as a great national "lion," and a commission some years ago was appointed to survey the route and make it more accessible. As yet not much has been done in that direction, but the journey to and from Buenos Aires can be made in less than a fortnight, and a rest-house has been provided. The traveller starts from Buenos Aires in a steamboat and proceeds up the Plate and Uruguay Rivers to Concordia. There he leaves the river and takes train to Corrientes, where he re-embarks in a steamer, and, passing up the Rio Alta Parana to Posadas, makes his way far north to the confines of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, where the Falls are. The Rio Iguazu joins the Parana at the place of disembarkation, and there is a long ride through the forest to the Falls. Twelve miles from the junction with the Parana there is a sudden bend, and the river makes its mighty leap of 210 feet. These are the Brazilian Falls, but lower down there are two other magnificent cascades, each of 100 feet, which fall into a narrow gorge. These are the Argentine Falls and are about 10,000 feet distant from the Brazilian. At the highest point the width of the river is 3,000 feet, but the gorge into which the magnificent columns of water finally discharge themselves is no more than 400 feet wide, and the volume of the discharge is greatly increased in the rainy season. The spectacle is no less magnificent than that of Niagara. As a mere discharge of water in a single sheet the North American fall is more impressive, but the beauty of the Argentine scene is enhanced by the luxuriant forests, and the long-drawn-out course of the foaming stream amid its sylvan scenery is unmatched. Some day, no doubt, there will be a fashionable watering-place within the sound of the roaring waters, with great hotels and a casino, but now the Falls are, like all the rest of the vast region, an almost unknown place. The great rivers offer the finest waterway, and nothing is required but men and energy to make this borderland a country of fabulous wealth. [Illustration: THE IGUAZU FALLS.] FOOTNOTES: [143] Rosario exported in 1907-- Wheat 2,850,000 tons Linseed 580,000 " Maize 1,400,000 " [144] "The new port at Rosario is admittedly no improvement on the old system of delivering wheat by shoots from the barrancas down to vessels moored to wooden stages in deep channel. In a word, the means of access from shore to river are most permanently effective when capable of adaptation to the shifting character of the stream" (W. S. Barclay, _Geog. Journ._, Jan., 1909).