'''Bahía Blanca''' is a city in eastern [[Argentina]] in the [[Buenos Aires]] Province, and a seaport at the head of the Bahía Blanca (an arm of the [[Atlantic Ocean]]). The leading city of eastern Argentina, it is an important trans-shipping and commercial center, handling the large export trade in grain and [[wool]] from southern Buenos Aires Province, [[oil]] from Neuquén, and fruit from the Río Negro Valley. The [http://www.uns.edu.ar National University of the South (''Universidad Nacional del Sur'')] (1956) is in Bahía Blanca. The city was founded as a fort in 1828 and became commercially important after the construction of a railroad through the area in 1885. Population (1991) 260,096.