Eldorado | |
Native Name Lang: | es |
Settlement Type: | City |
Pushpin Map: | Argentina Misiones Province#Argentina |
Pushpin Label Position: | left |
Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Eldorado in Misiones Province and Argentina |
Coordinates: | -26.4°N -92°W |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Name: | Argentina |
Subdivision Type1: | Province |
Subdivision Type2: | Department |
Subdivision Name2: | Eldorado |
Established Title: | Founded |
Established Date: | September 29, 1919 |
Founder: | Julio Adolfo Schwelm |
Leader Title: | Intendant |
Leader Name: | Rodrigo Durán |
Unit Pref: | Metric |
Elevation M: | 228 |
Population Total: | 57,323 |
Population As Of: | 2010 census |
Population Density Km2: | auto |
Timezone1: | ART |
Utc Offset1: | -3 |
Postal Code Type: | CPA base |
Postal Code: | N3380 |
Area Code Type: | Dialing code |
Area Code: | +54 3751 |
Website: | Official website |
Eldorado is a city in the center-northeast of the province of Misiones, Argentina. It has 54,189 inhabitants as per the, making it the third most populated city in the province, and is the head town of the Eldorado Department. It is located on the left-hand (eastern) banks of the Upper Paraná River, on National Route 12, about 100 km from the Iguazú Falls and 206 km from the provincial capital Posadas, on the Argentina-Paraguay border.
Eldorado was founded on 29 September 1919 as a rural settlement and a port on the Paraná by German-born Adolfo Julius Schwelm, naturalised British subject, who named it as a reference to the legend of El Dorado. The town was the center of the European immigrant colonization of the area (which included groups of people from Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Denmark, England, and others).
The region's economy is based on agriculture, producing tung, oranges, grapefruit and yerba mate. Tourism also plays a part, with main activities being sailing, sports fishing (golden dorado), and sports hunting (tapir, deer, wild boars). Eldorado has an airport.