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: 2,780,400 sq km
country comparison to the world: 8
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
land: 2,736,690 sq km
[see also: Area - land country ranks ]
water: 43,710 sq km
[see also: Area - water country ranks ]

Area - comparative:
slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US

Land boundaries:
total: 9,861 km
[see also: Land boundaries - total country ranks ]
border countries: Bolivia 832 km, Brazil 1,261 km, Chile 5,308 km, Paraguay 1,880 km, Uruguay 580 km

Coastline:
4,989 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]

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)
[see also: Elevation extremes - lowest point country ranks ]
highest point: Cerro Aconcagua 6,960 m (located in the northwestern corner of the province of Mendoza)
[see also: Elevation extremes - highest point country ranks ]

Natural resources:
fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium

Land use:
arable land: 10.03%
[see also: Land use - arable land country ranks ]
permanent crops: 0.36%
[see also: Land use - permanent crops country ranks ]
other: 89.61% (2005)
[see also: Land use - other country ranks ]

Irrigated land:
15,500 sq km (2003)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

Total renewable water resources:
814 cu km (2000)
[see also: Total renewable water resources country ranks ]

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 29.19 cu km/yr (17%/9%/74%)
[see also: Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) - total country ranks ]
per capita: 753 cu m/yr (2000)
[see also: Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) - per capita country ranks ]

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 in some areas
volcanism: Argentina experiences volcanic activity in the Andes Mountains along the Chilean border; Copahue (elev. 2,997 m, 9,833 ft) last erupted in 2000; other historically active volcanoes include Llullaillaco, Maipo, Planchon-Peteroa, San Jose, Tromen, Tupungatito, and Viedma

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