INFORMATION OF INTEREST
The name Argentina
Comes from the Latin "argentum" which means silver. The origin of this name goes back to the trip of the first Spanish conquerors to the Río de la Plata. Shipwrecked Members of the expedition of Juan Díaz de Solís found indigenous people in the region that gave them silver objects and carried them to Spain. By 1524, they reported the existence of the Sierra del Plata, a mountain rich in this precious metal. After that date, the Portuguese named the river of Solís, Río de la Plata. Two years later the Spanish used the same name. The National Constitution adopted in 1853 included the name "Argentina" among the official names to designate the government and the country's territory.
Location, area and borders
Located in South America and thus in the southern hemisphere, Argentina has an area of almost 3.8 million square kilometers, 2.8 on the continent, with approximately 54% are plains (grasslands and savannahs) , a plateau of 23% and 23% of hills and mountains, the remainder in the Antarctic. Its 3800 km long extending from 22 º to 55 º South latitude. Its border with Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia and Chile has a perimeter border of 9376 kilometers plus the coastline on the Atlantic Ocean, 4,725 miles.
Geography
The fundamental characteristic of Argentina is highlighting the huge contrast offered by the vast eastern plains and the impressive mountains of the Andes to the west, which has the highest peak in the western hemisphere: the Aconcagua, with 6959 meters .
In its journey from Jujuy to Tierra del Fuego, the Andes present marvelous contrasts: from the highlands of northwestern desert, with valleys, ravines and hills up to the colorful region of lakes, forests and glaciers of Patagonia .
To the north, Chaco is a forested area linked to rivers Bermejo, Salado and Pilcomayo.
Between the rivers Parana and Uruguay, the Argentinian Mesopotamia (provinces of Entre Rios, Corrientes and Misiones) is formed by low hills, lakes and marshlands evidence of the ancient courses of these great rivers. In some places within the subtropical rain forest, there are fissures which provide such spectacular phenomena as the Iguazú Falls.
At the center of Argentina, the Pampas plains are the largest and best-known. Of Agricultural and livestock, covering the Buenos Aires province, northeast of La Pampa and southern Cordoba and Santa Fe landscape is interrupted to the south by the small hills in Tandil and de la Ventana, and to the west to the Córdoba hills.
Towards the south, from the Andes to the sea, it appears the sterile and stony plateaus of Patagonia, swept most of the year by the wind. The Atlantic coast, bordered by high cliffs, draws sinuous forms, like the Peninsula Valdés, with its spectacular colonies of sea animals.
Climate
Argentina has a great variety of climates: warm and humid in the Pampas plains, cold and wet in the west end of Patagonia, subtropical in the northern part of Mesopotamia and warm in the Northwest. From November to March the average temperature is 23 ° C from June to September about 12 ° C.
Population
The current population of Argentina is over 38 million inhabitants, of whom nearly half live in the city and the province of Buenos Aires. These figures indicate a density of 14 inhabitants per km ².
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