| 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: 2,780,400 sq km land: 2,736,690 sq km water: 43,710 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US |
| Land boundaries | total: 11,968 km border countries (5): Bolivia 942 km, Brazil 1263 km, Chile 6691 km, Paraguay 2531 km, Uruguay 541 km |
| Coastline | 4,989 km |
| Maritime claims | 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 |
| 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 | highest point: Cerro Aconcagua (located in the northwestern corner of the province of Mendoza; highest point in South America) 6,962 m lowest point: Laguna del Carbon (located between Puerto San Julian and Comandante Luis Piedra Buena in the province of Santa Cruz) -105 m mean elevation: 595 m |
| Natural resources | fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium, arable land |
| Land use | agricultural land: 53.9% (2018 est.) arable land: 13.9% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.4% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 39.6% (2018 est.) forest: 10.7% (2018 est.) other: 35.4% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 23,600 sq km (2012) |
| Total renewable water resources | 876.24 billion cubic meters (2017 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 in some areas volcanism: volcanic activity in the Andes Mountains along the Chilean border; Copahue (2,997 m) last erupted in 2000; other historically active volcanoes include Llullaillaco, Maipo, Planchon-Peteroa, San Jose, Tromen, Tupungatito, and Viedma |
| Geography - note | note 1: 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; shares Iguazu Falls, the world's largest waterfalls system, with Brazil note 2: southeast Bolivia and northwest Argentina seem to be the original development site for peanuts |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
