Salta and Jujuy region
Comprising almost the
entire half of southern South America, Argentina is the world's eighth
largest country, covering an area of 2.8 million square km. Argentina
has some of the world's tallest mountains, expansive deserts and
impressive waterfalls, with the diversity of the land ranging from
wild, remote areas in southern Patagonia to the bustling metropolis
of Buenos Aires in the north. |
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Cuyo & the
Andean Northwest This area surrounding the Andes began as a colony of Peru, but today only a few miners and herders occupy this region of volcanic peaks and salt lakes. Very little rain falls in Cuyo, though to the east the fertile river valleys and subtropical lowlands of the Gran Chaco can be found. |
Mesopotamia & the
Northeast Mesopotamia, a broad, flat plain between the Parana and Uruguay Rivers in northern Argentina, is wet, swampy and extremely hot during summer. The northern province of Misiones, a more mountainous region nearly enclosed by Brazil and Paraguay, is densely forested and contains more than 80% of the majestic Iguazu Falls. |
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The Chaco This parched area in the west is part of the enormous Gran Chaco, a region that Argentina shares with Bolivia, Paraguay, and Brazil. The Chaco contains both grassland and thorny forest. |
The Pampas These fertile plains are Argentina's bread- basket. They consist of the Humid Pampas along the seaboard and the Dry Pampas in the west and south. The region includes Buenos Aires, as well as the world- class beaches of its surrounding area. |
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Patagonia and the
Lake District Located in the south of the Rio Colorado, this region experiences temperatures that range from mild to subzero and terrain varies from bucolic river valleys to the gigantic, ice-capped southern Andes. Its cool grazing grounds support enormous flocks of sheep, and numerous fruit and vegetable farms can be found in the valleys. Patagonia also holds vast reserves of oil and coal. |
Tierra del Fuego The Land of Fire is actually an archipelago including the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego (which Argentina shares with neighbouring Chile) and numerous smaller islands. Northern Isla Grande is similar in terrain to Patagonia's plains, while the mountainous area in the south is filled with forests and glaciers. Its climate is usually mild year-round, although storms are frequent. |
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