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| Location | Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay | | | Geographic coordinates | 34 00 S, 64 00 W | | | Zone | South America | | | Area | total: 2,766,890 sq km
land: 2,736,690 sq km
water: 30,200 sq km | | | Land boundaries | total: 9,861 km
border countries: Bolivia 832 km, Brazil 1,261 km, Chile 5,308 km, Paraguay 1,880 km, Uruguay 580 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 | 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) | | | Natural resources | fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium | | | Irrigated land | 4,989 km | | | 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, 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); 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 | |
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