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
total: 2,766,890 sq km
land: 2,736,690 sq km
water: 30,200 sq km

Area - comparative slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US

Land boundaries
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

Maritime claims
contiguous zone: 24 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest

Terrain rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western border

Elevation extremes
lowest point: Salinas Chicas -40 m (located on Peninsula Valdes)
highest point: Cerro Aconcagua 6,960 m

Natural resources fertile plains of the Pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium

Land use
arable land: 9%
permanent crops: 1%
other: 90% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land 15,610 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards 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

Environment - current issues 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

Environment - international agreements
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, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation

Geography - note 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); Cerro Aconcagua is South America's tallest mountain, while the Valdes Peninsula is the lowest point on the continent

NOTE: The information regarding Argentina on this page is re-published from the 2002 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Argentina Geography 2002 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Argentina Geography 2002 should be addressed to the CIA.