Argentina

A

2

Northern Plains and Foothills

The northern plains region of Argentina lies east of the Andes. It is part of a huge lowland that extends northward into Bolivia, Paraguay, and Brazil. The Gran Chaco (also called Chaco) and Mesopotamia make up its two subregions. The Chaco is the larger subregion. Extending eastward from the foothills of the Andes to the Paraná River, the Chaco is an area of scrub woodland with large areas of grassy savanna and subtropical forest. Several rivers cross the Chaco, and parts of it flood extensively during summer. Salty soils in much of the Chaco limit the amount of land that can be used for farming. Much of the Chaco is wilderness used for grazing.

Mesopotamia, which means “between the rivers” in Greek, lies between the Paraná and Uruguay rivers. It was named after the ancient region of Mesopotamia in southwestern Asia. Argentina’s Mesopotamia is a humid lowland of gently rolling prairies, and it rises to an area of forested tablelands in the northeast. Also in the northeast, rivers plunge over the edges of the great Paraná Plateau and produce spectacular waterfalls. These waterfalls include Iguaçu Falls, one of the great natural wonders of South America, on the border with Brazil.

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3

The Pampas

The Pampas, also known as the Pampa, are a vast fertile prairie south of the Chaco. They stretch west from Buenos Aires in a huge semicircle for hundreds of miles. Their flat or gently rolling surface is broken only in the south, where a range of hills rises to about 1,200 m (about 4,000 feet) above sea level. The Pampas contain the majority of Argentina’s population, most of its cultivated land, and many of its industries.

A

4

Patagonia

The windswept plateaus of Patagonia make up the tapering lower part of Argentina. Patagonia extends from the Atlantic Ocean on the east to the foothills of the Andes on the west. Deep canyons and grass-covered valleys cross the sparsely settled, treeless plateaus at intervals. The stony plateaus rise from low cliffs along the Atlantic coast to more than 1,500 m (5,000 ft) at the base of the Andes. Sea animals form colonies in gulfs and bays along the coastal cliffs. To the north Patagonia ends in the lake district. The Río Colorado (Colorado River) forms a natural boundary between Patagonia and the northern two-thirds of Argentina.

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Patagonia lies in the rain shadow of the Andes and so receives little moisture. As a result it is used primarily for grazing sheep, although some crops are grown on small farms in irrigated valleys. Several major oil fields also are in Patagonia. At the southern tip of Patagonia is Tierra del Fuego, a large mountainous island shared by Argentina and Chile.

B

Rivers and Lakes

Most of Argentina’s rivers empty into the Atlantic Ocean. Three rivers—the Paraná, Paraguay, and Uruguay—flow generally southward and form a major South American river system. The Paraguay joins the Paraná north of the city of Corrientes in Argentina. The Paraná then continues south and east until it joins the Uruguay River near Buenos Aires to form the huge Río de la Plata. This estuary, which carries the rivers to the Atlantic Ocean, forms part of the border between Argentina and Uruguay. The Paraná-Uruguay system is navigable for about 3,000 km (about 2,000 mi). A famed scenic attraction, the Iguaçu Falls, is on the Iguaçu River, a tributary of the Paraná.

Other important rivers of Argentina are the Río Colorado, which forms the northern boundary of Patagonia; the Río Salado in the Chaco of northern Argentina; and the Río Negro in Patagonia. In the area between the Río Salado and the Río Colorado and in the Chaco region, some large rivers empty into swamps and marshes or disappear into sinkholes.

In the south, the Argentine lake district extends from the Andes to the Patagonian plateaus. This popular resort area is noted for its many lakes and thick evergreen forests, which lie against a backdrop of snowcapped mountains and glaciers. One of the largest lakes is Nahuel Huapí, in northern Patagonia. The lake and the surrounding area make up the Nahuel Huapí National Park. Other lakes in the area are Lake Buenos Aires, which lies on the border between Argentina and Chile, and lakes Viedma and Argentino, which are fed by alpine glaciers. The lake district draws visitors for summer holidays and for winter sports.

C

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 20° to 30°C (67° to 86°F) in January and 8° to 15°C (46° to 60°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 (36° 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. It is 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 areas along the Atlantic coast, however, the ocean exerts a moderating influence on temperatures.

Precipitation in Argentina is marked by wide regional variations. More than 1,520 mm (60 in) fall annually in the extreme north, but conditions gradually become semiarid to the south and west. In the vicinity of Buenos Aires annual rainfall is about 950 mm (about 37 in). In the vicinity of Mendoza annual rainfall is about 190 mm (about 7 in).

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