Puerto Iguazu - City of Argentina

Puerto Iguazú is a frontier city in the province of Misiones, Argentina. It is the fifth largest city in the Province, after Posadas, Oberá, Eldorado and San Vicente.

In 1551, Spanish explorer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca was the first European to discover what is now called Iguazu Falls. He was drawn by the noise of the water, which can be heard at a distance of several kilometers. When the Spanish arrived in the 16th century, the Guarani Indians were the principal inhabitants of the area.

Despite its early exploration, the area remained occupied only by the Guarani until 1880. In 1881, the province of Corrientes, which at that time included what is now Misiones, sold 50 "leguas cuadradas" (13,000 square kilometres (5,000 sq mi)) at the current site of Puerto Iguazú near the falls. The land changed hands three times in the course of just two years, and ended up as the property of Gregorio Lezama. At that time Misiones separated from Corrientes. Lezama funded a scientific expedition to explore the territory, enlisting Carlos Bosetti and Jordan Hummel for that purpose. Those two explorers later organized the first tourist trip to the falls. In 1888 Lezama also sold the land, this time to Martín Errecaborde and Cía.

Puerto Iguazú has a "Humid Subtropical" climate (Cfa according to Köppen climate classification). Temperatures are warm in winter and hot in summer. There is no dry season and rainfall is abundant with every month receiving over 100 mm (3.9 inches) of rain with the wettest month; November, receiving over 200 mm (7.9 inches) of rain on average. Precipitation falls mostly during convective storms. Due to abundant rainfall, rainforests surrounds Puerto Iguazú.

One of the last remnants of the Atlantic Forest remains in and around the Iguazu Falls. This is a subtropical forest with native bamboos and a rich diversity of birds including toucans and hummingbirds. Coatis are accustomed to begging for food from park visitors. Most of the streets of Puerto Iguazu are unmetalled, red dirt, with gutters on either side (canalitos) that have grassy banks in which live eels and a variety of freshwater fish including knifefish ( gymnotus) and catfishes. The canals drain into the Rio Parana.

Places:

Iguazu Falls
Iguazú National Park
Three Frontiers
Fraternity Bridge