Mar del Plata
city in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina
Mar del Plata is a city of the Atlantic Coast, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" is short for "Mar del Río de la Plata," and means "sea of the Río de la Plata basin" or "adjoining sea to the (River) Plate region." Mar del Plata is one of the major fishing ports and the biggest seaside beach resort in Argentina.
With a population of 682,605 as per the 2022 census [INDEC], it is the 5th largest city in Argentina.
History
Pre-Spanish era: The region was inhabited by Günuna Kena nomads (also known as northern Tehuelche). After the 11th century they were strongly influenced by the Mapuche culture.
1577–1857: First European explorers. Sir Francis Drake made a reconnaissance of the coast and its sea lion colonies; Don Juan de Garay explored the area by land a few years later, in 1581. The Tehuelche were largely untouched by Spanish colonization because they were distant from major areas of settlement.
“Mar del Plata” enters the record as city in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Plata, city and Buenos can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Mar del Plata” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Plata, city and Buenos provides the most credible route into that argument.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q52607. VIAF identifies the subject as 167520778. The Library of Congress control number is n50074394. Authority coordinates are -38.000, -57.550. 4 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2022, 1577, 1857 and 1581.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Mar del Plata”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Mar del Plata primary sources, Mar del Plata archive and Plata research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Mar del Plata”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Mar del Plata” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.