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Argentina Geography  |
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 Argentina Geography:
The fundamental characteristic of Argentina is the enormous contrast between the immense eastern plains and the imposing mountain range of the Andes to the west. This is the frontier with Chile and it has the highest peak in the Western hemisphere: the Aconcagua, 6.959 metres high.
LOCATION, AREA AND FRONTIERS
Located in the southern part of South America and thus in the southern hemisphere, Argentina has an area of almost 3.8 million square kilometres, of which 2.8 are on the continent and the remainder in the Antarctic. Its length of 3.800 Km goes from latitude 22º to 55º. Its frontier with Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia and Chile has a perimeter of 9.376 Km. The coast on the Atlantic Ocean is 4.725 Km long.
In its passage from Jujuy to Tierra del Fuego the range presents marvellous contrasts, the plateaux of the Northwest, the lake region, the forests and the glaciers of the Patagonian Andes.
To the north, Chaco is a forested area which follows the rivers Bermejo, Salado and Pilcomayo.
Between the Paraná and Uruguay, the Mesopotamia of Argentina (the provinces of Entre Ríos, Corrientes and Misiones) is formed by low hills where pools and marshlands show the ancient courses of these great rivers. Occasionally there are fissures which provide such spectacular phenomena as the Falls of Iguazú.
La Pampa, in the centre of Argentina, is the largest and best known area of plains. It has a large amount of agriculture and livestock and includes the provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, the south of Santa Fe and the southeast of Córdoba. Its landscape is broken to the south by the small mountains of Tandil and La Ventana and to the west by the Córdoba mountain ranges.
Towards the south, from the Andes to the sea, are the sterile and stony plateaux of Patagonia, swept by the wind during most of the year. The Atlantic coast, lined with high cliffs, forms massive indentations like the Valdés Peninsula, with its spectacular and unique colonies of marine animals.
Location: Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay
Geographic coordinates: 34 00 S, 64 00 W
Map references: South America
Area:
total: 2,766,890 sq km
land: 2,736,690 sq km
water: 30,200 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US
Land boundaries:
total: 9,665 km
border countries: Bolivia 832 km, Brazil 1,224 km, Chile 5,150 km, Paraguay 1,880 km, Uruguay 579 km
Coastline: 4,989 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest
Terrain: rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western border
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Salinas Chicas -40 m (located on Peninsula Valdes)
highest point: Cerro Aconcagua 6,960 m
Natural resources: fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium
Land use:
arable land: 9%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 52%
forests and woodland: 19%
other: 19% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 17,000 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: San Miguel de Tucuman and Mendoza areas in the Andes subject to earthquakes; pamperos are violent windstorms that can strike the Pampas and northeast; heavy flooding
Environment - current issues: environmental problems (urban and rural) typical of an industrializing economy such as soil degradation, desertification, air pollution, and water pollution
note: Argentina is a world leader in setting voluntary greenhouse gas targets
Geography - note: second-largest country in South America (after Brazil); strategic location relative to sea lanes between South Atlantic and South Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage) |
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