II.

Land and Resources

Argentina covers an area of 2,780,400 sq km (1,073,518 sq mi). It is bounded on the north by Bolivia and Paraguay; on the northeast by Brazil and Uruguay; on the east by the Atlantic Ocean; on the south by the Atlantic Ocean and Chile; and on the west by Chile. The length of Argentina from north to south is about 3,330 km (about 2,070 mi); its greatest width is about 1,384 km (about 860 mi). The country includes the province of Tierra del Fuego, 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 Argentine coastline measures about 4,989 km (about 3,100 mi) long.

Argentina also claims a total of 2,808,602 sq km (1,084,407 sq mi) of disputed territory. Since the 1950s, Argentina has claimed a pie-shaped section of Antarctica between longitude 25° west and longitude 74° west. Argentina also claims several sparsely settled southern Atlantic islands, including the Falkland Islands, or Islas Malvinas, currently controlled by Britain. The two nations fought a brief war in 1982 over control of the islands, and sporadic discussions about the political fate of the islands continue. A number of nations, including the United States, do not recognize Argentine claims to Antarctica and these South Atlantic islands.

A.

Natural Regions

Argentina is divided into four major natural regions: the Andes, the northern plains and Andes foothills, the Pampas, and Patagonia.

A.1.

The Andes

The Andes, the great mountain system of South America, rise in crumpled blocks along Argentina’s western border. In Patagonia, they form a natural boundary between Argentina and Chile. The mountains are highest and widest in the north, where a number of peaks rise above 6,400 m (21,000 ft). Aconcagua (6,960 m/22,834 ft), the highest of these peaks, is the highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere.

Other noteworthy peaks are Ojos del Salado (6,880 m/22,572 ft) and Tupungato (6,800 m/22,310 ft), on the border between Argentina and Chile, and Mercedario (6,770 m/22,211 ft). Argentina’s lake district is in the southern Andes. The resort town of Bariloche, along Lake Nahuel Huapi, is the tourist center of the lake district. Despite their lower elevations, the southern Andes are extremely rugged.

Several parallel ranges and spurs of the Andes project deeply into northwestern Argentina. Here, rivers with sources in the snowfields atop the peaks have cut through the eastern face of the mountains and carved deep valleys. Salt lakes occupy many of the basins between mountains. The country’s only other highland of consequence is the Sierra de Córdoba, in central Argentina. Its highest peak is Cerro Champaquí (2,880 m/9,449 ft).

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.

A.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.

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).

D.

Natural Resources

The traditional wealth of Argentina lies in the vast Pampas, which are used for extensive grazing and grain production. However, Argentine timber and mineral resources, especially offshore deposits of petroleum and natural gas, have assumed increasing importance.

E.

Plants and Animals

The indigenous vegetation of Argentina varies greatly with the different climates and geographic regions of the country. The warm and moist northeastern area supports tropical plants, including such trees as the palm, rosewood, lignum vitae, jacaranda, and red quebracho. Grasses are the principal variety of indigenous vegetation in the Pampas. Trees, excluding such imported drought-resistant varieties as the eucalyptus, sycamore, and acacia, are practically nonexistent in this region and in most of Patagonia. The chief types of vegetation in Patagonia are herbs, shrubs, grasses, and brambles. In the Andean foothills of Patagonia and parts of Tierra del Fuego, however, conifers—notably fir, cypress, pine, and cedar—flourish. Cacti and other thorny plants predominate in the arid Andean regions of northwestern Argentina.

Argentina’s animal life is most diverse and abundant in the northern part of the country. Mammals here include monkeys, jaguars, pumas, ocelots, anteaters, tapirs, peccaries, and raccoons. Indigenous birds include the flamingo and various hummingbirds and parrots. The Pampas have armadillos, foxes, martens, wildcats, hare, deer, American ostriches (rheas), hawks, falcons, herons, plovers, and partridges; some of these animals are also found in Patagonia. The cold Andean regions are the habitat of llamas, guanacos, vicuñas, alpacas, and condors. Fish abound in coastal waters, lakes, and streams.

F.

Environmental Concerns

About two-fifths of Argentina’s population lives in metropolitan Buenos Aires alone, where heavy traffic leads to significant air pollution. In rural areas, access to safe water and sanitation is limited. Rivers are becoming polluted due to an increase in pesticide and fertilizer use.

Argentina has a relatively complex policy on land protection. There are 190 protected sites, covering a total of 4.4 percent of the country, with a mixture of federal, provincial, and municipal administration. Universities and private individuals also administer a few reserves. Only 1.7 percent (1997) of the land receives significant protection, and only about half of the recognized ecotypes in Argentina are represented in the protected land system. Major ecological threats are hunting and logging in the north, excessive tourism in the south, overgrazing in virtually all areas, and salinization (contamination with salt) of grazing and croplands as a consequence of damming and irrigation projects.