Santa Cruz Province, Argentina
Santa Cruz | |
|---|---|
| Province of Santa Cruz Provincia de Santa Cruz (Spanish) | |
View of Mount Fitz Roy | |
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Coat of arms | |
Location of Santa Cruz within Argentina | |
| Coordinates: 48°37′S 70°01′W / 48.62°S 70.01°W | |
| Country | Argentina |
| Departments | 7 |
| Municipalities | 27 |
| Capital | Río Gallegos |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Claudio Vidal (SER) |
| • Vice Governor | Fabián Leguizamón (PJ) |
| • Legislature | 24 |
| • National Deputies | 5 |
| • National Senators | José M. Carambia (SER) Natalia Gadano (SER) Alicia Kirchner (UP) |
| Area | |
• Total | 243,943 km2 (94,187 sq mi) |
| Population (2022 census (final figures)) | |
• Total | 337,226 |
| • Rank | 23rd |
| • Density | 1.38240/km2 (3.58039/sq mi) |
| Demonym | santacruceño |
| GDP | |
| • Total | US$ 5.2 billion |
| • Per capita | US$ 13,800 |
| Time zone | UTC−3 (ART) |
| ISO 3166 code | AR-Z |
| HDI (2021) | 0.854 very high (5th) |
| Website | www |
Santa Cruz Province (Spanish: Provincia de Santa Cruz, Spanish pronunciation: [ˈsanta ˈkɾus], "Holy Cross") is a province of Argentina, located in the southern part of the country, in Patagonia. It borders Chubut Province to the north, and Chile to the west and south, with the Atlantic coast to the east. Santa Cruz is the second-largest province of the country (after Buenos Aires Province), and the least densely populated in mainland Argentina. It covers a land area of 243,943 km2 and had a population of 337,226 at the 2022 Census.
The indigenous people of the province are the Tehuelches, who despite European exploration from the 16th century onwards, retained independence until the late 19th century. Soon after the Conquest of the Desert in the 1870s, the area was organised as the Territory of Santa Cruz, named after its original capital in Puerto Santa Cruz. The capital moved to Rio Gallegos in 1888 and has remained there ever since. Immigrants from various European countries came to the territory in the late 19th and early 20th century during a gold rush. Santa Cruz became a province of Argentina in 1957.