HVRA-BASIC GEOGRAPHY ARGENTINA

Argentina
or Argentine Republic,
country in South America, east of Chile and west of the Atlantic Ocean. The total area is 2,766,889 sq km (1,068,302 sq mi).
Latitude is 3,694 km (2,295 mi)
The capital and largest city is Buenos Aires.

Land and Resources

The Andes Mountains line Argentina's western edge, forming the boundary with Chile. The highest peak, Aconcagua, stands 6960 m (22,834 ft). Gently rolling plains extend eastward from the base of the Andes and descend gradually to sea level.
The Pampa, treeless plains that include the most productive agricultural sections of the country, occupy much of this region. Patagonia, south of the Pampas, is dry and desolate.
At the southern tip of Argentina lie the islands of Tierra del Fuego.

Argentina has a temperate climate, except for a small tropical area in the Northeast and a subtropical region in the north.
The higher Andes and Patagonia are cold, while in most coastal areas temperatures are moderated by the ocean. Rainfall is high in the north, and quite low in the south.
Argentina's main natural resource has been the agricultural land of the Pampas. Productive offshore deposits of petroleum and natural gas are also important.

Population and Culture

The population is 34,264,000 (1995 estimate), largely urban and of European origin. Spanish is the official language, Roman Catholicism the predominant religion. Education and Culture Education is free and compulsory. Argentina has rich literary and musical traditions. The tango, a widely popular ballroom dance, originated here. (The Tango was born in the port of Buenos Aires; Astor Piazolla, Lalo Schifrin, J.L. Borges and Ernesto Sábato are relatively known artists. Diego Maradona is arguably the world's most popular Argentine )

Economy

Argentina ranks among world leaders in the production of grain and cattle. Wheat is the most important crop, and wool is a major export. Coal and petroleum production, once relatively small-scale, has increased significantly in recent years. The unit of currency is the nuevo peso argentino (1 peso equals U.S.$1; 1996). Government Executive power is held by a president elected to no more than two consecutive four-year terms. The National Congress consists of the 257-member House of Deputies and the 72-member Senate. Deputies are elected directly to four-year terms, and each of the country's 23 provinces elects three senators to six-year terms. In each province, the largest nongoverning party chooses one of the three senators.

Geographic areas

Pampa: vast, generally treeless plains of central Argentina, which gradually rise from the Atlantic coast to the Andes Mountains.
These fertile plains are Argentina's breadbasket. They consist of the Humid Pampas along the seaboard and the Dry Pampas in the west and south.
The eastern portion, known as the humid Pampa, is one of the most fertile regions in the country. From the humid Pampa to the Andes is the dry Pampa, a less populated region supporting cattle, horses, and sheep. The region includes Buenos Aires, as well as the beaches of its surrounding area.

The Chaco: a parched area in the west is part of the enormous Gran Chaco, a region that Argentina shares with Bolivia, Paraguay, and Brazil. The Chaco contains both grassland and thorny forest.

Cuyo & the Andean Northwest: the area surrounding the Andes began as a colony of Peru, but today only a few miners and herders occupy this unforgiving region of volcanic peaks and salt lakes. Very little rain falls in Cuyo, though to the east are found the fertile river valleys and subtropical lowlands of the Gran Chaco.

Mesopotamia & the Northeast: a broad, flat plain between the Parana and Uraguay Rivers in northern Argentina. Wet, swampy and extremely hot during the summer. The northern province of Misiones, a more mountainous region nearly enclosed by Brazil and Paraguay, is densely forested and contains a section of the majestic Iguazu Falls.

Patagonia and the Lake District: southernmost region of Argentina, located east of the Andes Mountains. It has an area of about 777,000 sq km (about 300,000 sq mi), marked by desert plateaus. Sheep raising is a principal economic activity. Much of Patagonia, and almost all of the area south of the Rio Colorado, experiences a desert climate, although temperatures range from mild to subzero and terrain varies from bucolic river valleys to the gigantic, ice-capped southern Andes. Its cool grazing grounds support enormous flocks of sheep, and numerous fruit and vegetable farms can be found in the valleys. Patagonia also holds vast reserves of oil and coal. The first European to visit Patagonia was Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, in 1520. The region was not settled until after 1880.

The Andes: began forming when the Pacific crustal plate began to subduct the South American plate. The forces generated by this collision still trigger volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.
The passes through the Andes are at a great height and are narrow, steep, and dangerous. The Central Railroad crosses at an elevation of 4816 m (about 15,800 ft), making it the highest standard-gauge railroad in the world.
Aconcagua (6960 m/22,834 ft), in Argentina, is the highest mountain in the western hemisphere. The timberline ranges from an average elevation of 3500 m (11,500 ft) at the equator to about 910 m (about 3000 ft) in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. The mineral riches of the Andes have not been fully exploited. The northern Andes are drained by such major rivers as the Amazon, the Orinoco, and the Salado.

Tierra del Fuego: archipelago at the southern tip of South America, belonging partly to Argentina and partly to Chile, separated from South America on the northwest by the Strait of Magellan. The islands are bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, the Antarctic Ocean on the south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west; their southern extremity is Cape Horn.
The mountainous archipelago consists of a large main island and many smaller islands. The Argentine portion, including the main island and Staten Island at the southeastern end, has a population of 69,450 (1991).

The rest of the archipelago, with a population of 171,059 (1993), is in Chile. The area of the entire archipelago is about 71,484 sq km (about 27,600 sq mi). The most important industry is the raising of livestock. The archipelago was discovered in 1520 by Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan.

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