=Buenos Aires= has port facilities of the first order, though insufficient for its great commerce. These are in two divisions: one, the natural port, is on the Riachuelo, a small river south of the city, which probably determined the precise location of its site. The river admits vessels of 18-foot draft. Capable of an annual traffic of 1,200,000 tons, it is of great value in national commerce. There are wooden quays on the north side of the river, now to be rebuilt at a cost of $400,000, and on the south, concrete docks and quays constructed by the Southern Railway. On that side are some of the noted _frigorificos_ and the famous _Mercado de Frutos_, the Central Produce Market, with 180,000 square yards of floor space. The main port, receiving the ocean steamers, is on the city front, extending two miles directly along the Plata River. Constructed at great expense, and expected to supply the needs of the city for years, it was completed in 1897; but the growth of the city soon outran its capacity, so that in 1911 provision was made for its enlargement, which, however, has not yet been accomplished. About $35,000,000 have been spent altogether. The port consists of two basins, _darsenas_, the north and south, with four docks between having a depth of 23 feet and a total area of 164 acres. The length of the quays which may be used for loading and discharging freight is about ten miles. Along the docks are 33 warehouses with 30,000,000 tons capacity, and four sheds. Grain elevators have a total capacity of 300,000 tons of cereals, and granaries of 55,000 tons in sacks. Loading under cover, the work goes on in bad weather, each elevator loading 20,000 tons a day. Two dry docks accommodate ships 400 feet long; 874 electric lights, 100 feet apart, serve the harbor entrance. Sixty-four thousand ships with 22,000,000 tonnage have entered the harbor in a year, bringing 85 per cent of the imports and carrying out 50 per cent of the exports of the country. =Ensenada=, the port of the made-to-order city of La Plata, more noteworthy for its university and museum than for its commercial affairs, has been constructed for the relief of Buenos Aires, and because, 35 miles lower down, the water naturally has greater depth. The port has 8000 feet of quays, warehouses, and other necessary appliances. Two American packing houses are here located. =Mar del Plata=, the Newport of South America, 250 miles by rail south of Buenos Aires, is being developed also as a commercial port, with quays, warehouses, etc.