Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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THE LAY OF THE LAND
Argentina is 5,000km (3,107 miles) in
length and 1,800km (1,118 miles) wide in
parts, making it the world 's eighth-largest
country with a landmass of almost 3 mil-
lion sq. km (1.2 million sq. miles). S uch
vastness means gr eat contrasts r egarding
geographical features.
THE P AMPAS
This flat terrain is an
agricultural powerhouse and where a third
of the population resides. It consists of the
central eastern pr ovinces of B uenos Aires
and La P ampa and the southern par ts of
Santa F e and Cór doba. The climate is
humid, with lots of rainfall (900mm a
year) and sw eltering summers that for ce
much of the population to decamp to the
Atlantic coast on its eastern fringe.
PATAGONIA
Desolate and r omantic,
Patagonia is like a countr y within a coun-
try, consisting of four pr ovinces and huge
contrasts. The nor thern alpine Lake D is-
trict is far away fr om the arid steppes that
host lots of sheep and few humans and the
spectacular glaciers far ther south. The
Andes form a wall of ice, blocking rain
from Chilean Patagonia on the other side.
Comodoro Rivadavia is an oil town, while
Rio Gallegos is sustained by agriculture.
TIERRA DEL FUEGO
The Andes
mountains ar e pulled eastwar d, forming
one large island and a multitude of smaller
ones holding famous bays and inlets such
as the B eagle Channel and the M agellan
Straits. Because of this tectonic shift, Ush-
uaia is the only Argentine to
other side of the Andes and is surr ounded
by icy peaks. The nor thern half of the
island is a desolate plain of br
own fur ze
that supports sheep and llama.
MESOPOTAMIA & EL CHACO
The north-
eastern part of Argentina is hot and humid,
with the bor der pr ovince of M isiones
resembling a jungle fr ontier. H ere y ou'll
find the famous Iguazú Falls and the triple
border shar ed with B razil and P araguay
and formed b y the Rio U ruguay and Rio
Parana. The v ast w etlands of Ester os del
Ibera lie far ther south in Corrientes pr ov-
ince. F arther nor th and east, the land
becomes a dry, inhospitable shrub, known
as E l Chaco, that extends all the way to
Bolivia.
THE ANDES
The Andes form the back-
bone of Argentina, str etching the whole
way from Bolivia to Tierra del Fuego and
rising as high as 6,960m (22,835 ft.) at
Mt. Aconcagua in Mendoza province, the
highest peak outside the H imalayas. The
huge differences in altitude mean the land-
scape v aries dramatically , with the r ed
desert plateaus of S alta province contrast-
ing with the temperate lakes of Tafi del
Valle and the humid cane fields of
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Tucuman. Farther south, the pr ovinces of
San J uan and M endoza consist of v ast
desert scr ub with little rain. Yet together
they ar e one of the most pr olific wine
regions in the world, thanks to melted
snow channeled to ward the vineyar ds
through a vast network of canals.
wn on the
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ARGENTINA WAYS & MANNERS
Argentines hav e a dramatic disposition.
Witness the spontaneous str eet pr otests
where neighbors spill out on the str eet to
bang pots and pans, usually pr ompted by
an electricity cut or burglar y. A football
game can be communal chaos. The deaf-
ening chanting amid r
mammoth banners co vering huge cr owds
watched by heavily armed riot police is at
once terrifying and electrifying. O r sit
back in any cafe and watch the exaggerated
gesticulations of the patr ons who hav e
been ther e since 8am complaining about
the politicians, the heat, and the crime,
ocket flar es and
