| Geography and Climate |
Argentina is located in Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay. The area comparatively is slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US.
The total land boundary is 9,665 km, border countries are Bolivia 832 km, Brazil 1,224 km, Chile 5,150 km, Paraguay 1,880 km, Uruguay 579 km. Argentina has mostly temperate climate; arid in southeast and subantarctic in southwest. Terrain consists of rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western border. The elevation extreme has lowest point in Salinas Chicas -40 m and highest point in Cerro Aconcagua 6,962 m. Natural resources are 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 is 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: erosion results from inadequate flood controls and improper land use practices; irrigated soil degradation; desertification; air pollution in Buenos Aires and other major cities; water pollution in urban areas; rivers becoming polluted due to increased pesticide and fertilizer use. 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).
Ref. Anonymous, 1999 |
