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Argentina: Geography
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Location:
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Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay
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Geographic coordinates:
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34 00 S, 64 00 W
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Map references:
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South America
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Area:
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total: 2,766,890 sq km
land: 2,736,690 sq km
water: 30,200 sq km
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Area - comparative:
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slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US
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Land boundaries:
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total: 9,665 km
border countries: Bolivia 832 km, Brazil 1,224 km, Chile 5,150 km, Paraguay 1,880 km, Uruguay 579 km
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Coastline:
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4,989 km
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Maritime claims:
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contiguous zone: 24 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin
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Climate:
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mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest
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Terrain:
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rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western border
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Salinas Chicas -40 m (located on Peninsula Valdes)
highest point: Cerro Aconcagua 6,960 m
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Natural resources:
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fertile plains of the Pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium
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Land use:
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arable land: 9.14%
permanent crops: 0.8%
other: 90.06% (1998 est.)
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Irrigated land:
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15,610 sq km (1998 est.)
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Natural hazards:
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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
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Environment - current issues:
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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
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Environment - international agreements:
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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, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
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Geography - note:
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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); Cerro Aconcagua is South America's tallest mountain, while the Valdes Peninsula is the lowest point on the continent
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