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Major Regions of Argentina
Home » Argentina » Argentina: Major Cities and Regions » Major Regions of ArgentinaThe country of Argentina is comprised of six major regions: Cuyo and the Andean Northwest, Mesopotamia and the Northeast, The Chaco, The Pampas, Patagonia and the Lake District, and Tierra del Fuego. Below is a brief description of each of these regions.
• Cuyo and the Andean Northwest: This area is fairly desolate, except for a few miners and herders who dwell in this merciless region of salt lakes and volcanic peaks. The region surrounding the Andes mountains originated as a colony of Peru. Cuyo experiences very little rain fall, however, just to the east the lush river valleys and subtropical lowlands of the Gran Chaco are located.
• Mesopotamia and the Northeast: Mesopotamia is an extensive, flat plain located between the Uraguay and Parana Rivers in northern Argentina. The region is swampy, wet, and tremendously hot in the summer months. The northern province of Misiones, a more mountainous area practically enclosed by Paraguay and Brazil, is heavily forested and possesses a portion of the grandiose Iguazu Falls.
• The Chaco: This region is found in the west and is very arid. The area is a portion of the massive Gran Chaco, an expanse that Argentina shares with Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay. The topography of this region contains both thorny forest and grassland.
• The Pampas: This region is the prize of Argentina and contains one of the largest fertile plains in the world, as it embraces nearly one third of Argentina’s land area. The lush plains of this area are made up of the Dry Pampas in the west and south as well as the Humid Pampas found beside the seaboard. The Pampas contains the city of Buenos Aires, in addition to the top-notch beaches of its adjoining area.
• Patagonia and the Lake District: This region is known around the world for its extreme landscape. Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean border the legendary Patagonia. Found south of the Rio Colorado, the area is subjected to a desert climate, even though temperatures vary from mild to subzero. In addition, the terrain fluctuates from rural river valleys to the enormous, ice-capped southern Andes. The region consists of cold-water lakes, enormous forests, and substantial mountains valleys. This region is great for the fruit and vegetable farms located throughout the valleys and its cool grazing grounds sustain massive flocks of sheep. In addition, the area of Patagonia contains considerable reserves of coal and oil.
• Tierra del Fuego: Tierra del Fuego stands for the “Land of Fire”, which is in fact an archipelago together with the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego and various smaller islands. The northern area of Isla Grande is comparable in topography to Patagonia’s plains, while the south is packed with glaciers and forests and is very mountainous. Although this region often experiences storms, the climate is typically mild all year.
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