Overview

The Argentine Republic, the second-largest country in South America, is bounded on the north by Bolivia and Paraguay, on the east by Brazil, Uruguay, and the Atlantic Ocean and on the south and west by Chile. It has an area of 2 780 400 Km².

Argentina comprises a diverse territory of lofty mountains, arid deserts, vast plains, and swampy forests. The rugged Andes Mountains stretch along the country´s western border. A bare, windswept plateau called Patagonia extends across the south. The Pampa, a fertile, grassy plain, lies near the middle of the country. The southernmost tip of Argentina lies only about 970 Km from Antarctica while the northernmost part has a nearly tropical climate.

The western boundary of the country follows the Andes, beginning with the Patagonian Andes in the south and extending up the main Andean cordillera to the Bolivian frontier. While seldom exceeding 3 600 m in the south, peaks in the north exceed 6 400, the highest being, Aconcagua (6 960 m), the highest peak outside those of Central Asia.

East of the Andes, the terrain is generally flat or gently undulating, sloping gradually from an elevation of about 600 m to sea level. The Gran Chaco lies between the Paraná River on the east and the lower ranges of the Andes on the west. The region, mostly covered with scrub forest, is dry for most of the year, but often has heavy rains during the summer.

The region called Mesopotamia or Entre Ríos lies between the Paraná and Uruguay rivers. Mesopotamia has a hot, humid climate and much of it is productive agricultural land. Swampy forests cover the extreme north-east.

The Pampas, treeless plains that include the most productive agricultural regions of the country, extend about 1 600 km south of the Gran Chaco. It covers nearly a fifth of the country.

In Patagonia, south of the Pampas, the terrain consists largely of arid, windswept, desolate steppes. While it occupies more than a quarter of Argentina, poor soil and little rainfall make most of Patagonia unsuitable for farming. Much of it is used for pasture for sheep.

The island of Tierra del Fuego lies at the southern tip of South America, separated from the mainland by the Strait of Magellan. Argentina and Chile share the island.

The chief rivers of Argentina are the Paraná, which flows south from the border with Brazil; the Uruguay, on the border with the country of the same name; and the Paraguay, which is the main tributary of the Paraná extending into the country of Paraguay. The Río de la Plata estuary is formed by the confluence of the Paraná and the Uruguay rivers.

Other important rivers are the Río Colorado, the Río Salado, and the Río Negro. The country includes a number of lakes; some formed by glacial action along the foothills of the Andes.

Argentina largely has a temperate climate except for a small tropical area in the north-east and the subtropical Chaco in the north. In Buenos Aires the average temperature range is 17º to 29º C in January and 6º to 14º C in July. In Mendoza, in the foothills of the Andes to the west, the average temperature range is 16º to 32º C in January and 2º to 15º in July.

Considerably higher temperatures prevail in the north, averaging about 27 º C in January, with extremes as high as 45º C. Climatic conditions are cold in the higher Andes, Patagonia, and Tierra del Fuego. In western Patagonia, winter temperature average is Oº C. In the coastal areas; however, the ocean exerts a moderating influence on temperatures.

Precipitation is plentiful in north-eastern Argentina but decreases toward the west and south. More than 1 500 mm fall annually in the extreme north, decreasing to less than 250 mm in much of Patagonia. Buenos Aires averages about 1 000 mm annually, while in the vicinity of Mendoza it is about 190 mm.

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The above information has been obtained from FAOForestry whom we acknowledge with gratitude.

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