Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
locals and the nuttiest of travelers. It's a distance of nearly 3500km, an expanse that en-
compasses a vast array of environments and terrain.
The Central & Northern Andes
In the extreme north, the Andes are basically the southern extension of the Bolivian
alti-
plano,
a thinly populated high plain between 3000m and 4000m in altitude, punctuated
by even higher volcanic peaks. Although days can be surprisingly hot, frosts occur al-
most nightly. The Andean Northwest is also known as the puna.
Further south, in the arid provinces of San Juan and Mendoza, the Andes climb to their
highest altitudes, with 6962m Cerro Aconcagua topping out as the highest point in the
western hemisphere. Here, the highest peaks lie covered in snow through the winter. Al-
though rainfall on the eastern slopes is inadequate for crops, perennial streams descend
from the Andes and provide irrigation water, which has brought prosperity to the wine-
producing provinces of Mendoza, San Juan and San Luis. Winter in San Juan province is
the season of the
zonda,
a hot, dry wind descending from the Andes that causes dramatic
temperature increases.
At its mouth, the Río de la Plata is an amazing 200km wide, making it the widest river in
the world - though some consider it more like a river estuary.
The Chaco
East of the Andes and the Andean foothills, much of northern Argentina consists of sub-
tropical lowlands. This arid area, known as the Argentine Chaco, is part of the much lar-
ger Gran Chaco, an extremely rugged, largely uninhabited region that extends into
Bolivia, Paraguay and Brazil. The Argentine Chaco encompasses the provinces of
Chaco, Formosa and Santiago del Estero, the western reaches of Jujuy, Catamarca and
Salta provinces, and the northernmost parts of Santa Fe and Córdoba.
The Chaco has a well-defined winter dry season, and summer everywhere in the
Chaco is brutally hot. Rainfall decreases as you move east to west. The wet Chaco,
which encompasses the eastern parts of Chaco and Formosa provinces and northeast
Santa Fe, receives more rain than the dry Chaco, which covers central and western Chaco
and Formosa provinces, most of Santiago del Estero and parts of Salta.
