Physical map of the Province of Misiones, Argentina
Physical map of the Province of Misiones, Argentina.
The province territory occupies an area of 29 801 km², which is comparable with the size of Belgium. It is the second smallest province after Tucumán: it represents only 0.8% of the total of the country.
Geologically it integrates the massif of Brasilia through the missionary plateau. In Misiones there are different types of soils, the most characteristic being the basalt derivatives, since they cover two thirds of the territory. These soils are known as "lateríticos" or "latosoles", and their coloration is reddish or reddish brown due to the decomposition of basalt and metalliferous clay; They also have a high content of iron oxide and aluminum. In some places the ground is shallow and with rocks outcropping, in other stony and sloping slopes.
The formations found in Misiones are called plateaus, although they are plateaus from water and wind erosion, with a mammillated shape. In this province there have been no folding, but fractures of the precámbrico substrate, which is the massif of Brasilia. Through the center of the plateau rises the mountain range of Misiones or Central, which is a watershed between the Paraná and Uruguay rivers reaching its highest point, 843 meters above sea level, near Bernardo de Irigoyen, with the Rincón hill. To the south is the mountain range of the Imán or Itacuara and to the north the Sierra de la Victoria, which acts as a watershed between the Paraná and Iguazú rivers. The latter, when cutting the sierras forms the Iguazu Falls.
The province territory occupies an area of 29 801 km², which is comparable with the size of Belgium. It is the second smallest province after Tucumán: it represents only 0.8% of the total of the country.
Geologically it integrates the massif of Brasilia through the missionary plateau. In Misiones there are different types of soils, the most characteristic being the basalt derivatives, since they cover two thirds of the territory. These soils are known as "lateríticos" or "latosoles", and their coloration is reddish or reddish brown due to the decomposition of basalt and metalliferous clay; They also have a high content of iron oxide and aluminum. In some places the ground is shallow and with rocks outcropping, in other stony and sloping slopes.
The formations found in Misiones are called plateaus, although they are plateaus from water and wind erosion, with a mammillated shape. In this province there have been no folding, but fractures of the precámbrico substrate, which is the massif of Brasilia. Through the center of the plateau rises the mountain range of Misiones or Central, which is a watershed between the Paraná and Uruguay rivers reaching its highest point, 843 meters above sea level, near Bernardo de Irigoyen, with the Rincón hill. To the south is the mountain range of the Imán or Itacuara and to the north the Sierra de la Victoria, which acts as a watershed between the Paraná and Iguazú rivers. The latter, when cutting the sierras forms the Iguazu Falls.