Location:
Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay
Geographic coordinates:
34 00 S, 64 00 W
Map references:
South America
Area:
Area - comparative: Land boundaries:
Coastline: Maritime claims:
Climate: Terrain: Elevation extremes:
Natural resources: Land use:
Irrigated land: Total renewable water resources: Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
Natural hazards: Environment - current issues: Environment - international agreements:
Geography - note:
total:
2,780,400 sq km
country comparison to the world: 8
land:
2,736,690 sq km
water:
43,710 sq km
Area comparison map:
total:
11,968 km
border countries:
Bolivia 942 km, Brazil 1,263 km, Chile 6,691 km, Paraguay 2,531 km, Uruguay 541 km
[see also: Land boundaries country ranks ]
4,989 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]
territorial sea:
12 nm
contiguous zone:
24 nm
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
continental shelf:
200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
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:
Laguna del Carbon -105 m (located between Puerto San Julian and Comandante Luis Piedra Buena in the province of Santa Cruz)
highest point:
Cerro Aconcagua 6,960 m (located in the northwestern corner of the province of Mendoza; highest point in South America)
fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium
arable land:
13.68%
permanent crops:
0.36%
other:
85.96% (2011)
15,500 sq km (2003)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]
814 cu km (2011)
[see also: Total renewable water resources country ranks ]
total:
32.57 cu km/yr (23%/13%/64%)
per capita:
864.9 cu m/yr (2005)
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 in some areas
volcanism:
volcanic activity in the Andes Mountains along the Chilean border; Copahue (elev. 2,997 m) last erupted in 2000; other historically active volcanoes include Llullaillaco, Maipo, Planchon-Peteroa, San Jose, Tromen, Tupungatito, and Viedma
environmental problems (urban and rural) typical of an industrializing economy such as deforestation, soil degradation, desertification, air pollution, and water pollution
note:
Argentina is a world leader in setting voluntary greenhouse gas targets
party to:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified:
Marine Life Conservation
second-largest country in South America (after Brazil); strategic location relative to sea lanes between the South Atlantic and the South Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage); diverse geophysical landscapes range from tropical climates in the north to tundra in the far south; Cerro Aconcagua is the Western Hemisphere's tallest mountain, while Laguna del Carbon is the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere