Misiones Province 3.23

Misiones is one of the 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil to the north, east and south, and Corrientes Province of Argentina to the southwest.This was an early area of Roman Catholic missionary activity by the Society of Jesus in what was then called the Province of Paraguay, beginning in the early 17th century. In 1984 the ruins of four mission sites in Argentina were designated World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.HistoryIndigenous peoples of various cultures lived in the area of the future province for thousands of years. At the time of European encounter, it was occupied by the Kaingang and Xokleng, later followed by the Guarani. The first European to visit the region, Sebastian Cabot, discovered Apipé Falls while navigating the Paraná River in December 1527. In 1541 Álvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca reached the Iguazú Falls.