Location

Argentina or Argentine Republic, federal republic in southern South America, bounded on the north by Bolivia and Paraguay; on the east by Brazil, Uruguay, and the Atlantic Ocean; on the south by the Atlantic Ocean and Chile; and on the west by Chile.

Area

The length of Argentina in a northern to southern direction is about 3330 km (about 2070 mi); its extreme width is about 1384 km (about 860 mi). The country includes the Tierra del Fuego territory, which comprises the eastern half of the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego and a number of adjacent islands to the east, including Isla de los Estados. The area of Argentina is 2,766,889 sq km (1,068,302 sq mi); it is the second largest South American country, Brazil ranking first in area. Argentina, however, claims a total of 2,808,602 sq km (1,084,120 sq mi), including the Islas Malvinas, and other sparsely settled southern Atlantic islands.,The Argentine coastline measures about 5000 km (about 3100 mi) in length. Argentina is the 8th largest country in the world.

Land and Resources

Argentina comprises a diverse territory of mountains, upland areas, and plains. The western boundaries of the country fall entirely within the Andes, the great mountain system of the South American continent. The Patagonian Andes, which form a natural boundary between Argentina and Chile, are one of the lesser ranges, seldom exceeding about 3600 m (about 12,000 ft) in elevation. From the northern extremity of this range to the Bolivian frontier, the western part of Argentina is occupied by the main Andean cordillera, with a number of peaks above about 6400 m (about 21,000 ft). Aconcagua (6960 m/22,834 ft), the highest of these peaks, is the greatest elevation in the world outside Central Asia.

Eastward from the base of the Andean system, the terrain of Argentina consists almost entirely of a flat or gently undulating plain. The Pampas, treeless plains that include the most productive agricultural sections of the country, extend about 1600 km (about 1000 mi) south from the Gran Chaco. In Patagonia, south of the Pampas, the terrain consist of numerous lakes, particularly among the foothills of the Patagonian Andes. The best known are those in the alpine lake country around the resort town of San Carlos de Bariloche (Bariloche).

The main rivers are Paraná, which traverses the north central portion of the country; the Uruguay, which forms part of the boundary with Uruguay; and the Río de la Plata, the great estuary formed by the confluence of the Paraná and the Uruguay rivers. The Paraná-Uruguay system is navigable for about 3000 km (about 2000 mi).

Natural resources.

The traditional wealth of Argentina lies in the vast Pampas, which are used for extensive grazing and grain production. However, Argentine mineral resources, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium , especially offshore deposits of petroleum and natural gas, have assumed increasing importance in recent decades.

Land use

The soils of Argentina vary greatly in fertility and suitability for agriculture, The Pampas, which are largely made up of a fine sand, clay, and silt almost wholly free from pebbles and rocks, are ideal for the cultivation of cereal. The natural grasslands of this region are used primarily as pasture for cattle. In part of the Chaco an unusually saline soil is believed to be responsible for the abundance of the tannin-rich quebracho trees.

Of Argentina’s land area of about 280 million hectares (about 692 million acres), about 52% is used for pasturing cattle and sheep herds, about 22% for woodland, and about 4% for permanent crops; about 9% of the country’s land area is arable.

arable land: 9% permanent crops: 4%
meadows and pastures: 52%
forest and woodland: 22% other: 13%
irrigated land: 17,600 sq km (1989 est.)

Climate

Temperate climatic conditions prevail throughout most of Argentina, except for a small tropical area in the northeast and the subtropical Chaco in the north. In Buenos Aires the average temperature range is 17° to 29° C (63° to 85° F) in January and 6° to 14° C (42° to 57° F) in July. In Mendoza, in the foothills of the Andes to the west, the average temperature range is 16° to 32° C (60° to 90° F) in January and 2° to 15° C (35° to 59° F) in July. Considerably higher temperatures prevail near the tropic of Capricorn in the north, where extremes as high as 45° C (113° F) are occasionally recorded. Climatic conditions are generally cold in the higher Andes, Patagonia, and Tierra del Fuego. In the western section of Patagonia winter temperatures average about 0° C (32° F). In most coastal areas, however, the ocean exerts a moderating influence on temperatures.

Environment preservation

Twenty-two national parks preserve large areas of these varied environments and protect wildlife (much of it unique) such as the caiman (or Yacare), puma, guanaco (a lowland relative of the upper-Andean Ilama), rhea (similar to an ostrich), Andean condor, flamingo, various marine mammals and unusual seabirds such as Magellanic penguins. Thorn forests, virgin rain forests, flowering cacti, extensive forests of monkey-puzzle trees and southern beech are also protected.

international agreement

party to:

Antarctic-Environmental Protocol
Antarctic Treaty
Biodiversity
Climate Change
Endangered Species
Environmental Modification
Hazardous Wastes
Marine Dumping
Nuclear Test Ban
Ozone Layer Protection
Ship Pollution
Wetlands
Whaling