Río Negro (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈri.o ˈneɣɾo], Black River) is a province of Argentina, located in northern Patagonia.

Neighboring provinces are from the south clockwise Chubut, Neuquén, Mendoza, La Pampa and Buenos Aires.

Originally part of the Argentine territory called Patagonia (in 1878 the Gobernación de la Patagonia[4]), in 1884 it was organised into the Territorio Nacional del Río Negro and General Lorenzo Vintter was appointed as the territory's first governor.

It was only in 1957,[5] that Río Negro acquired status of a province; its first provincial governor was Edgardo Castello of the Radical Civic Union (UCR).

The mean annual temperatures in the province are relatively cold for its latitude owing to the marine currents to the east and higher altitude to the west.

[9] Coastal areas and northern parts of the province receive a slightly higher precipitation, where it can average above 300 millimetres (12 in) a year.

[9] Most of the Andean region has a rainfall pattern that is Mediterranean like, similar to Central Chile in which most of the precipitation falls during the winter months and summers are dry.

[14] It is estimated that Mapuches started coming to the region before 1880 from Chile, leading to the imposition of their culture onto the other indigenous groups.

[14] Originally agricultural people, the Mapuches became nomadic upon arrival to the province due to the utilization of horses.

As of December 2019, Arabela Carreras became governor of the province, following the retirement of Alberto Weretilneck due to term-limit.

[18][19] There is a gold mine located at Calcatreu, near Ingeniero Jacobacci, owned by Pan American Silver.

[20] in December 2011 the provincial government repealed a law banning the use of cyanide in mineral processing, and the mine's owners regarded this as a positive development which is likely to bring increased investment.

The most visited area is that of the lake district near San Carlos de Bariloche inside the Nahuel Huapi National Park, and neighbouring Neuquén Province.