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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
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Marine Life Conservation
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)
Argentina is the second largest country in South America in area
and in population. Only Brazil covers a greater area and has more
people.
Argentina has a long, tapered shape and occupies most of the southern
part of South America. It extends from the Bolivian Chaco in the
north to the Beagle Channel in the south.
Geography
Argentina, bounded on the north by Bolivia and Paraguay. The country
occupies most of the southern portion of the continent of South
America and is somewhat triangular in shape.
The area of Argentina is 2,780,400 sq km (1,073,518 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). The geographic coordinates are 34 00 S, 64 00 W.
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. 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).
Background: A part of the Spanish empire until independence
in 1816, Argentina subsequently experienced periods of internal
political conflict between conservatives and liberals and between
civilian and military factions.
Meantime, thanks to rich natural resources and foreign investment,
a modern agriculture and a diversified industry were gradually developed.
After World War II, a long period of Peronist dictatorship was followed
by rule by a military junta.
Democratic elections finally came in 1983, but both the political
and economic atmosphere remain susceptible to turmoil.
Following independence from Spain in 1816, Argentina experienced
periods of internal political conflict between conservatives and
liberals and between civilian and military factions.
After World War II, a long period of Peronist dictatorship was followed
by a military junta that took power in 1976. Democracy returned
in 1983, and four free elections since then have underscored Argentina's
progress in democratic consolidation.
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