Geography of Argentina
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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. |
Argentina is divided into four major natural regions: the Andes, the northern plains and Andes foothills, the Pampas, and Patagonia. 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 (6,635 m/21,768 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. |
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The Andes. destination360.com |
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