Santa Fe

Santa Fe city (1991 pop. 341,000), capital of Santa Fe prov., NE Argentina, a river port near the Paraná, with which it is connected by canal. On the eastern margin of the Pampa (see under pampas ), it is an important shipping point for the agricultural products of much of NW Argentina. The city also has some industry. Founded by the Spanish conquistador Juan de Garay (1573), Santa Fe was the site of the promulgation of the 1853 Argentine constitution. There are several notable churches and a national university.

Santa Fe State capital of New Mexico, USA, at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The oldest US capital city, it was founded in c.1609 by the Spanish, and acted as a centre of Spanish-Native American trade for more than 200 years. Mexico's independence in 1821 opened trade with the USA. Santa Fe functioned as the w terminus of the Santa Fe Trail. In 1846, US troops captured the city, and in 1850 the region became US territory, achieving statehood in 1912. Today, it is primarily an administrative, tourist and resort centre. Pop. (2000) 62,203.