Argentina

Withaland area of 2,780,092 square kilometers, Argentina is the second largest country of South America with an estimated population in 2006 of 40 million people. Two main units constitute the physical environment: the Andes in the west, and the much older and eroded Eastern massifs, now reduced to plains. The Andean region can be divided into two mountain ranges. The northern Andes, where the highest elevations are to be found (including the highest peak in the western hemisphere, Aconcagua, at 6,959 meters), are characterized by an arid climate and sparse herbaceous vegetation. The southern Andes, with smaller heights but more rainfall, offer a landscape that is a mosaic of forests, lakes, and glaciers. Eastern Argentina is formed mostly by undulating plains replenished by the alluvial ...