The Rosario Department is an administrative subdivision (departamento

Departments of Argentina

Departments form the second level of administrative division in the provinces of Argentina. There are no departments in the city of Buenos Aires, which has so far been divided into neighbourhoods as its administrative divisions, but is to be divided now into communes by a recently passed local act...

) of the . It is located on the south of the province, with its eastern border coinciding with the provincial border along the Paraná River

Paraná River

The Paraná River is a river in south Central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina for some . It is second in length only to the Amazon River among South American rivers. The name Paraná is an abbreviation of the phrase "para rehe onáva", which comes from the Tupi language...

. It has an area of 1,890 km² and a population of 1.3 million, with a population density of about 700 inhabitants/km². This department is the most populated in the province (comprising more than one third of the total population).

The department's head town is the city of Rosario

Rosario

Rosario is the largest city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the western shore of the Paraná River and has 1,159,004 residents as of the ....

; most of the population is concentrated in its metropolitan area

Metropolitan area

The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...

 (Greater Rosario

Greater Rosario

Greater Rosario is the metropolitan area of the city of Rosario, in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. This metropolis has a population of about 1.5 million , thus being Argentina's second most populated urban settlement, after Buenos Aires....

), which reaches north into the neighboring San Lorenzo Department

San Lorenzo Department

The San Lorenzo Department is an administrative subdivision of the . It is located in the south of the province...

. Other important cities and towns are Ibarlucea

Ibarlucea

Ibarlucea is a town in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It has 2,549 inhabitants per the . It is located on National Route 34, immediately north-west of Rosario, forming part of the Greater Rosario metropolitan area, and south of the provincial capital Santa Fe.The area was known as Kilómetro...

, Granadero Baigorria

Granadero Baigorria

Granadero Baigorria is a city in the south of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, located directly north of Rosario, on the western shore of the Paraná River, and forming part of the Greater Rosario metropolitan area...

, Funes

Funes, Santa Fe

Funes is a small city in the , located within the metropolitan area of Greater Rosario, about 15 km west from the center of the city of Rosario. It has a population of about 15,000 inhabitants....

, Pérez

Pérez, Santa Fe

Pérez is a city in the . It is part of the Greater Rosario metropolitan area, and lies 175 km south from the provincial capital . It has a population of about 25,000 inhabitants ....

, Zavalla

Zavalla, Santa Fe

Zavalla is a town in the south of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It has 4,659 inhabitants per the . It is located on National Route 33, immediately west from Pérez, 22 km south-west from the center of Rosario, and 187 km south from the provincial capital Santa Fe.The settlement was born...

, Pueblo Nuevo, Villa Diego, Álvarez

Álvarez, Santa Fe

Álvarez is a town in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It has 5,515 inhabitants as per the .The town was founded on 7 July 1890 by Justina Rodríguez, the young widow of Nicolás María Álvarez, the owner of an estancia surrounded by a small populated settlement...

, Villa Amelia

Villa Amelia, Santa Fe

Villa Amelia is a town in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It has 1,191 inhabitants per the ....

, Acebal

Acebal, Santa Fe

Acebal is a town in the south of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, from Rosario and south of the provincial capital Santa Fe. It has 4,814 inhabitants per the ....

, Uranga

Uranga, Santa Fe

Uranga is a small town in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It has 957 inhabitants per the ....

, Arroyo Seco

Arroyo Seco, Santa Fe

Arroyo Seco is a city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It has about 24,000 inhabitants according to the . Its name is the same as a neighbouring creek...

, Fighiera, and Coronel Bogado.

Limiting the Rosario Department to the south is the Constitución Department

Constitución Department

The Constitución Department is an administrative subdivision of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It is located on the south of the province. It has about 83,000 inhabitants as per the...

 (whose head town is Villa Constitución) and to the east and north, the San Lorenzo Department

San Lorenzo Department

The San Lorenzo Department is an administrative subdivision of the . It is located in the south of the province...

 (head town San Lorenzo

San Lorenzo, Santa Fe

San Lorenzo is a city in the south of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, located 23 km north of Rosario, on the western shore of the Paraná River, and forming one end of the Greater Rosario metropolitan area...

). On the eastern border, along the Paraná River, is the heart of the Industrial Corridor, a productive area with a concentration of light industries (such as soybean oil and pod processing) and major ports.