In 1757, Viana and the superior Governor of Buenos Aires, Pedro de Cevallos, built a strong fort called San Antonio.

On 16 June 1768, the buildings in Salto were occupied by Francisco de Paula Bucareli with 1,500 soldiers seeking to expel the Jesuits from all Spanish territory, as ordered by Carlos III.

[2] The fort of San Antonio served as an arms depot and later as a prison for most of the priests, who were later taken to Buenos Aires or deported overseas.

In that place the Board of Buenos Aires awarded the title of Lieutenant Governor, Chief Justice and Captain of the Department to Artigas who "guided the revolutionaries in a ten-year crusade to liberate the people from Imperial Spanish rule.

[5] In late October 1845 roughly 1,000 of Giuseppe Garibaldi's Italian and Uruguayan troops advanced up the Uruguay River and took Gualeguaychú in Argentina before seizing Salto, remaining there several months as they plotted against Justo José de Urquiza, Cesar Diaz and Servando Gomez.

[6] On 8 February 1846 Garibaldi defeated Gomez's army, killing several hundred at San Antonio Chico Creek outside Salto.

According to Nicolas SantAnna, the president of the local commerce and industry syndicate, Salto's Don Atilio has become Uruguay's most dangerous barrio.

Built on hills and bluffs, the city is situated near the Rio Uruguay's 'big jump' falls, which is also the location of the Salto Grande Dam.

Salto has a humid subtropical climate typical of the region, with sunny and hot summers with occasional heavy rainfall combined with mild winters.

[citation needed] The center of the city lies on Calle Uruguay, the heart of the business district, and many of the historic buildings in the immediate vicinity are significant.

Popular activities among young people include drinking mate (an herbal beverage), going dancing at night and crossing into Argentina to go shopping in Concordia on weekends.

[16] Because of its geography, near other regions with Aedes aegypti mosquitos, Salto is one of the more vulnerable cities to mosquito-borne diseases like dengue fever.

Nueva Hesperides International Airport had scheduled connections with Montevideo until 2015, enabling easy access to the local thermal baths.

There are plans to improve it and local business people are keen to see it expand, allowing freight (particularly fruit) to be shipped directly from the region.