Geography of Argentina
This article describes the geography of Argentina.
; Location:
- Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay
- 34° 00′ S, 64° 00′ W
- South America
- Total: 2,766,890 km²
- Land: 2,736,690 km²
- Water: 30,200 km²
- Australia comparative: slightly bigger than Western Australia
- Canada comparative: slightly bigger than Nunavut
- United Kingdom comparative: 11 times bigger than the UK
- United States comparative: slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US
- 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
- 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
- Mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest
- Rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western border
- Lowest point: Gran Bajo de San Julián (located on Chubut Province)
- Highest point: Cerro Aconcagua 6,960 m
- Fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium
- Arable land: 9%
- Permanent crops: 1%
- Permanent pastures: 52%
- Forests and woodland: 19%
- Other: 19% (1993 est.)
- 17,000 km² (1993 est.)
- 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
- Environmental problems (urban and rural) typical of an industrializing economy such as soil degradation, desertification, air pollution, and water pollution. Argentina is a world leader in setting voluntary greenhouse gas targets.
- Signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation
- 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)
Reference
Much of the material in this article comes from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website.