Geography of Argentina
| 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: 9,861 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 |
| Land use: | arable land: 10.03% permanent crops: 0.36% other: 89.61% (2005) |
| Irrigated land: | 15,500 sq km (2003) |
| 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 |