Best Countries

Argentina stretches from the tropical jungle in the north over the vast Pampas to the polar regions in the far south. The Argentine people have immigrated from all over the world, and nature shows an even greater variety than the population. The multifaceted Argentine nature contains Aconcagua, the continent’s highest mountain, Iguazu, the world’s richest waterfall and the ‘Land of Fire’ in the south with snow-capped mountain peaks and shiny lakes and fjords. Argentina is nature, tango, football and juicy steaks.

Population: 43 mill.

Capital: Buenos Aires

Language: Spanish

the Argentine tango originated in Buenos Aires? It quickly became one of the world’s most popular dances.

Argentina is named after the Latin word for silver, argent?

Geography of Argentina

Argentina is located in the southeastern part of South America and is the continent’s second largest country. The country borders Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil and Uruguay. The coast faces the South Atlantic. Argentina’s geography and climate are very varied. In terms of nature, the country can be divided into four regions: the Andes towards the border with Chile, the large plain area Grand Chaco towards the border with Bolivia in the northwest, the Pampas further south and Patagonia the farthest south. The Andes stretch 3,900 km through western Argentina and form the border with Chile. Here is South America’s highest mountain, the volcano Aconcagua at almost 7,000 m. The entire Argentine part of the Andes has volcanoes and is often hit by violent earthquakes. The Grand Chaco plain has savannah and swamp vegetation. Towards the border with Paraguay and Brazil, the rivers Paraná and Uruguay and their tributaries have cut deep gorges in the plateau and form large waterfalls, the largest of which is the 70 m high Iguazu. The Pampas region consists of flat, treeless plains, most of which serve as grazing areas for Argentina’s famous beef cattle. Patagonia consists of flat plateaus crossed by deep ravines.

The population of Argentina

The majority of Argentina’s 40 million inhabitants are of European origin. Most are descended from Spanish colonial masters, and slightly fewer from Italian and northern European immigrants. In addition, there is a small proportion of mestizos and even fewer thoroughbred Indians. The Pampas plain in the northeast, where the big cities are located, is the area that is most densely populated. Pampas changed in the 19th century from an impassable thicket to a huge grassy plain and became the world’s largest area for meat and grain production. Argentina is the world’s largest meat producer and the world’s third largest wine producer. Wine is grown mainly in irrigated areas to the west at the foot of the Andes.

Argentina’s climate and wildlife

According to bridgat, Northern Argentina has a subtropical climate with some rain all year round. The country of fire, Tierra del Fuego, in the far south has an Antarctic climate with snow and low temperatures throughout the year. The central parts of the country are more temperate, but can be very hot and have high humidity during the summer months (from December to February). Wildlife shows as much diversity as the climate. In the subtropical regions of the north live large felines such as jaguars, cougars and ozelots as well as howler monkeys, crocodiles, tapirs, flamingos and parrots. In the steppes of central Argentina, armadillos, pampashare and nandustruts live. The mountains to the west are inhabited by various llama species, Andean cat, chinchilla and the giant bird condor. Off the coast of Patagonia you can see sea elephants, sea lions, penguins, dolphins and lots of fish and octopus.

Argentina’s history

Argentina is a Catholic country. Catholicism accompanied the Spaniards when they came to the country in 1516. The first Spaniards in Argentina met about 300,000 Indians at a fairly low cultural level – and lots of silver. The valuable silver (argentum in Latin) gave the country a name and the Spaniards a good reason to build a colony. The native Indians did not, contrary to expectation, allow themselves to be exploited as cheap labor on the hauchendas of the Gauchers, and during the first 200 years of the colonial period, Argentina was an insignificant province under the Viceroyalty of Peru. Argentina became independent in 1816, and after a couple of decades, agriculture and economy began to flourish, and Argentina quickly became one of the ten richest countries in the world. The country’s most famous president, or rather dictator, was Juan Perón. As Minister of Labor, he had organized the workers and thus received great support from the people. Perón and his wife Eva became extremely popular, and “Evita” was worshiped almost as a saint after her death. Perón was eventually expelled by the military, which for several periods between 1958 and 1983 held power in Argentina. Especially towards the end of the military’s reign, much went out of control. All resistance was crushed and 30,000 people “disappeared” suddenly.