Lobos

History

The history of Lobos began in 1740 when a Jesuit mission led by Reverend Father Falkner, who surveyed the centre and South of the Province of Buenos Aires and thus picked up some geographic information of the area. In 1772 thanks to Falkner's notes a map of the region was printed in London. The map contained the inscription Laguna de Lobos (Lagoon of Wolves, in Spanish) below the drawing of the lagoon. It's said that the name Lobos stems from the amount of otters that at that time populated the lagoon and were known as "lobos de agua" ("water wolves") or "lobos de río" ("river wolves"), however, there are historians who believe Lobos had been given this name due to the wild dogs staying around and because they bore a resemblance to wolves. By 1779 several guards settled down there and several forts, fortresses and military positions were built to form a defence wall against the natives. These positions were set up by order of viceroy Juan José de Vértiz y Salcedo and named them Chascomús, Ranchos, Monte, Lobos, Navarro, Areco and Rojas. On 21 August 1779 Gunnery Sergeant Pedro Rodríguez concluded the construction of the main parts of the fort San Pedro de Los Lobos, over the eastern bank of the Lagoon about 300 meters from its shoreline and nearly 1,500 meters east of the mouth of Las Garzas stream, finishing the work Lieutenant Bernardo Serrano. By the end of 18th century José Salgado and his wife Pascuala Rivas de Salgado were granted an area to colonize as a donation made by viceroy Vértiz, founding Pago de Los Lobos on 2 June 1802. Back in that time, their Christian faith brought them to build a straw-and-mud oratory, under advocation of Nuestra Señora del Carmen, forming the Chapel in June 1803 being the first priest doctor José García Miranda. The chapel…

Geography

Lobos has a surface of 1,725 km2 and is bordered to the south by the Río Salado, which usually becomes the source of recurrent flooding. Lobos city is also limited by Salgado Channel, which comes from Río Salado. The southeastern area of the city is bordered by Muñiz Channel. Salgado Channel splits the city from the countryside areas. Lobos also boasts 6 lagoons: Salada; Laguna Salada Chica; Laguna Culú Culú; Laguna de Colis; Laguna Seca, and the most important of all: Lobos Lagoon (Laguna de Lobos for Spanish). In the 1980s geologist Víctor Mansione discovered a plaster deposit beneath the lagoon. The existence of this deposit prevents the lagoon to drain. Currently the lagoon has become an issue of political concern due to its polluted water that worsened during the past years on account of the lack of sound policies to prevent this situation.

Most-observed species

• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  36
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  33
• White Stork

  Ciconia ciconia (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  31
• White Wagtail

  Motacilla alba Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  30
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  28
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  27
• Hooded Crow

  Corvus cornix Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  26
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  26