La Plata

La Plata (lä plä`tä), city (1991 pop. 640,344), capital of Buenos Aires prov., E central Argentina, 5 mi (8.1 km) inland from Ensenada, its port on the Río de la Plata. La Plata's chief function is that of provincial capital, but industrial growth has been steady, and large quantities of processed food, chemicals, and steel are produced. Although the proximity of Buenos Aires has to some extent checked its development, La Plata is also a major cultural center, with fine museums and colleges and a national university. The national naval academy is located in nearby Ensenada. The city was founded in 1882, after Buenos Aires was federalized as the national capital. During the dictatorship of Juan Perón (1946–55), both city and province were renamed Eva Perón, in honor of his wife. The name La Plata was restored when Perón's regime was overthrown (1955).

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La Plata

City (pop., 1999 est.: 556,308), eastern Argentina. After Buenos Aires became the national capital, La Plata was chosen (1882) as the new seat of Buenos Aires province and was modeled on the U.S. capital of Washington, D.C. It was renamed for Argentine first lady Eva Perón in 1952, but after the overthrow of Pres. Juan Peron in 1955 it resumed its original name. Located near the Río de la Plata estuary, it is a seaport with a large artificial harbour. Its industries include meatpacking and oil refining.

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La Plata

1. a port in E Argentina, near the R?o de la Plata estuary: founded in 1882 and modelled on Washington DC; university (1897). Pop.: 758 000 (2005 est.)

2. See (R?o de la) Plata

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La Plata 

a city in eastern Argentina, on the southern coast of the gulf of La Plata, and the administrative center of the province of Buenos Aires. Founded in 1882. Population, 408,300 (1970). La Plata is a railroad junction and an important seaport for the export of the agricultural products of the Pampas, such as grains, meat, wool, and raw leather. It is also one of the leading centers of the oil-refining, petrochemical, and slaughtering-refrigeration industries. A university and the La Plata museum of natural history are located in the city.

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La Plata 

(in Spanish, Río de la Plata; literally, “silver river”), a gulf of the Atlantic Ocean, on the southeastern coast of South America. The gulf of La Plata is an estuary of the Paraná River; it is 320 km long, up to 220 km wide, and 10–20 m deep. Tides are irregular, semidiurnal, and up to 1 m in height. Two large cities, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Montevideo, Uruguay, are located on the shores of La Plata.