Located in the southern part of South America and thus in the southern hemisphere, Argentina has an area of almost 3.8 million square kilometres, of which 2.8 are on the continent and the remainder in the Antarctic. Its length of 3.800 Km goes from latitude 22º to 55º. Its frontier with Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia and Chile has a perimeter of 29.038 Km and the coast, on the Atlantic Ocean, is 5.117 Km long. The fundamental characteristic of Argentina is the enormous contrast between the immense eastern plains and the imposing mountain range of the Andes to the west.
In its passage from Jujuy to Tierra del Fuego the range presents marvellous contrasts, the plateaux of the Northwest, the lake region, the forests and the glaciers of the Patagonian Andes.
To the north, Chaco is a forested area which follows the rivers Bermejo, Salado and Pilcomayo. Between the Paraná and Uruguay, the Mesopotamia of Argentina (the provinces of Entre Ríos, Corrientes and Misiones) is formed by low hills where pools and marshlands show the ancient courses of these great rivers. Occasionally there are fissures which provide such spectacular phenomena as the Falls of Iguazú. La Pampa, in the centre of Argentina, is the largest and best known area of plains. It has a large amount of agriculture and livestock and includes the provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, the south of Santa Fe and the southeast of Córdoba. Its landscape is broken to the south by the small mountains of Tandil and La Ventana and to the west by the Córdoba mountain ranges.
Towards the south, from the Andes to the sea, are the sterile and stony plateaux of Patagonia, swept by the wind during most of the year. The Atlantic coast, lined with high cliffs, forms massive indentations like the Valdés Peninsula, with its spectacular and unique colonies of marine animals.
In its passage from Jujuy to Tierra del Fuego the range presents marvellous contrasts, the plateaux of the Northwest, the lake region, the forests and the glaciers of the Patagonian Andes.
To the north, Chaco is a forested area which follows the rivers Bermejo, Salado and Pilcomayo. Between the Paraná and Uruguay, the Mesopotamia of Argentina (the provinces of Entre Ríos, Corrientes and Misiones) is formed by low hills where pools and marshlands show the ancient courses of these great rivers. Occasionally there are fissures which provide such spectacular phenomena as the Falls of Iguazú. La Pampa, in the centre of Argentina, is the largest and best known area of plains. It has a large amount of agriculture and livestock and includes the provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, the south of Santa Fe and the southeast of Córdoba. Its landscape is broken to the south by the small mountains of Tandil and La Ventana and to the west by the Córdoba mountain ranges.
Towards the south, from the Andes to the sea, are the sterile and stony plateaux of Patagonia, swept by the wind during most of the year. The Atlantic coast, lined with high cliffs, forms massive indentations like the Valdés Peninsula, with its spectacular and unique colonies of marine animals.
For anyone who has ever been fascinated by geography, the long, impossibly thin line of Chile has always produced a tiny moment of astonishment. Chile stretches over 4,300 km (2,700 mi) along the southwestern coast of South America, a distance roughly the same as that from San Francisco to New York, or Edinburgh to Baghdad. At the same time, its width never exceeds 240 km (150 mi), making the country more than eighteen times longer than its widest point.
The most obvious factor in Chile's remarkable slenderness is the massive, virtually impassable wall of the Andes, a mountain range that is still rising and that contains more than fifty active volcanic peaks. The western border is of course the Pacific Ocean, but it is a misconception to picture Chile as nothing more than the steep western slope of the Andean peaks. All along its length Chile is marked by a narrow depression between the mountains and the sea. To the north the land rises and becomes more arid, until one reaches the forbidding Atacama Desert, one of the most inhospitable regions on earth. To the south just the opposite transformation takes place: the land falls away, and the region between mountains and ocean fades into the baffling archipelagic maze that terminates in Chilean Patagonia. Chile's southern extremity is marked by Cape Horn, a treacherous headland surrounded by almost continuously storm-tossed seas and passable only through the foggy stillness of the Strait of Magellan.
In the center of the country, however, is a long and expansive river valley, a five hundred mile corridor occupied in the north by vineyards and great farms and in the south by primeval forests and enchanting lakes. Santiago, the capital, anchors the northern and more prosperous section of the central valley. The lush Lake District to the south, however, is the homeland of Chile's indigenous peoples, the Araucanians.
Also part of Chile are two notable Pacific possessions-the Juan Fernandez Islands and the famous Easter Island, both of which are administered as national parks. The Juan Fernandez islands are located about 670 km off the Chilean coast, while Easter Island is situated 3700 km distant.
The most obvious factor in Chile's remarkable slenderness is the massive, virtually impassable wall of the Andes, a mountain range that is still rising and that contains more than fifty active volcanic peaks. The western border is of course the Pacific Ocean, but it is a misconception to picture Chile as nothing more than the steep western slope of the Andean peaks. All along its length Chile is marked by a narrow depression between the mountains and the sea. To the north the land rises and becomes more arid, until one reaches the forbidding Atacama Desert, one of the most inhospitable regions on earth. To the south just the opposite transformation takes place: the land falls away, and the region between mountains and ocean fades into the baffling archipelagic maze that terminates in Chilean Patagonia. Chile's southern extremity is marked by Cape Horn, a treacherous headland surrounded by almost continuously storm-tossed seas and passable only through the foggy stillness of the Strait of Magellan.
In the center of the country, however, is a long and expansive river valley, a five hundred mile corridor occupied in the north by vineyards and great farms and in the south by primeval forests and enchanting lakes. Santiago, the capital, anchors the northern and more prosperous section of the central valley. The lush Lake District to the south, however, is the homeland of Chile's indigenous peoples, the Araucanians.
Also part of Chile are two notable Pacific possessions-the Juan Fernandez Islands and the famous Easter Island, both of which are administered as national parks. The Juan Fernandez islands are located about 670 km off the Chilean coast, while Easter Island is situated 3700 km distant.
