|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
Located in the southern part of South America and thus in the southern hemisphere, Argentina has an area of almost 3.8 million square kilometers, of which 2.8 are on the continent and the remainder in the Antarctic. Its length of 3.800 Km goes from latitude 22º to 55º. Its frontier with Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia and Chile has a perimeter of 9.376 Km. The coast on the Atlantic Ocean is 4.725 Km long.
The fundamental characteristic of Argentina is the enormous contrast between the immense eastern plains and the imposing mountain range of the Andes to the west. This is the frontier with Chile and it has the highest peak in the Western hemisphere: the Aconcagua, 6.959 meters high.
In its passage from Jujuy to Tierra del Fuego the range presents marvelous contrasts, the plateaux of the Northwest AND HUMAHUACA TRIALS, the lake region, the forests and the glaciers of the Patagonian Andes.
To the north, Chaco is a forested area which follows the rivers Bermejo, Salado and Pilcomayo.Between the Paraná and Uruguay, the Mesopotamia of Argentina (the provinces of Entre Ríos, Corrientes and Misiones) is formed by low hills where pools and marshlands show the ancient courses of these great rivers. Occasionally there are fissures which provide such spectacular phenomena as the Falls of Iguazú.
La Pampa, land of the gaucho, in the center of Argentina, is the largest and best known area of plains. It has a large amount of agriculture and livestock and includes the provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, the south of Santa Fe and the southeast of Córdoba. Its landscape is broken to the south by the small mountains of Tandil and La Ventana and to the west by the Córdoba mountain ranges. Here you can find Buenos Aires city.
Towards the south, from the Andes to the sea, are the sterile and stony plateaux of Patagonia, swept by the wind during most of the year. The Atlantic coast, lined with high cliffs, forms massive indentations like the Valdés Peninsula, with its spectacular and unique colonies of marine animals.
The current population of Argentina is estimated to be some 37 million of which almost half live in the Federal Capital and the province of Buenos Aires and the rest in different towns. These figures give us a population density of 13.2 inhabitants per square kilometer.
95% of Argentineans are white and principally descendants of Italians and Spaniards. With the massive European immigration the white and Indian half castes became slowly diluted until today these people only amount to 4.5% of the population. The pure indigenous population, the Mapuches, Collas, Tobas, Matacos and Chiriguanos, amount to 0.5% of the population.
There is complete religious freedom in Argentina although the official religion is Roman Catholic. There are also other religions such as Protestant, Jewish, Moslem, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, etc.
The official Argentine currency is the Peso which is not more on a par with the US Dollar (SINCE 1/JAN/2002 THERE WAS A DEVALUATION, SO THE VALUE OF YOUR DOLLARS HAS INCREASED FOUR TIMES).. There are notes of 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 pesos and coins of 1, 2 and 5 pesos, and 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50 centavos.
The country is a representative federal and democratic republic with Buenos Aires as the Federal Capital and 23 provinces. There are three authorities: the executive, the legislative and the judicial. The first is exercised by the President of the Nation, elected for a term of four years. He has ample powers, including the power of approving or vetoing decisions by Congress. The National Congress has two chambers. The Chamber of Deputies has 254 directly elected members. The Senate has 72 members elected by provincial jurisdictions, three per province and three for the Federal Capital. The provinces and the city of Buenos Aires are autonomous and elect their own officials, the Governors and the Chief of Government are the ultimate authorities.
The current Constitution dates from 1853. Nevertheless, it has undergone changes on various occasions, the last time was in August 1994, which allowed the reelection of the President of the Nation for one more term.
The flag has three horizontal stripes: the middle one white with the golden sun and the two outside ones of sky blue. The national flower is the ceibo and the national stone the manganese spar or "the rose of the Inca".