Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0018/00183.txt

Text File | 1991-06-24 | 25KB | 426 lines

$Unique_ID{COW00183}
$Pretitle{273}
$Title{Argentina
Introduction}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Embassy of Argentina, Washington DC}
$Affiliation{Embassy of Argentina, Washington DC}
$Subject{argentina
country
political
system
world
years
economic
new
aires
buenos}
$Date{1990}
$Log{}
Country:     Argentina
Book:        Argentina Basics
Author:      Embassy of Argentina, Washington DC
Affiliation: Embassy of Argentina, Washington DC
Date:        1990

Introduction

     Argentina plunges more than 2.300 miles from lush tropical jungles in the
north to Antarctic ice at its southernmost end. Between these two startling
geographic extremes, the country itself spreads out like a canvas - upon which
nature has somehow managed to create some of the most strikingly contrasting
scenery to be viewed in just one place in the world. You can see all the
difference in the world in one convenient and easily accessible country.

     Argentina is one of the few places on earth where, at virtually any given
time of the year, and within days if not within hours, you can travel from the
ocean to towering mountains, from lush, steaming jungles to polar ice caps.
Where you can explore a sun baked landscape in the morning and go skiing the
same night. Or watch an exciting game of soccer on one warm afternoon and go
mountaineering in the Andes the next.

     But the country's diversity doesn't end there; it extends far beyond its
geographic aspects.

Geography

     The Argentine Republic extends from the Tropic of Capricorn to the tip of
South America. It is shaped like a huge triangle pointing South and leaning
on the Andes, which constitutes a perfect "spine" on the west. The country has
one of the largest ravines on earth, a steep-sided valley called "quebrada",
cutting eastwards through the north, which afterwards disappears into dense
subtropical forest and comes out of it to hold and direct the waters coming
from two large rivers towards the broad Rio de la Plata.

     From this point the triangle progressively narrows down in a straight
line to end up, as if in a single point, beyond the strait where the two
oceans meet, in Tierra del Fuego-an island of strange fascination and a
legendary name.

     From there, ending its territory in wonderful landscape, the country
projects into the Antarctic Continent just as a wedge inserted into the Pole.

     Ever from the tropical North down to this pointed South, through high and
low lands, both soft or rough, in steppes and swamps, in forests and desertic
areas, the country offers a profusion of different landscapes in a dazzling
display of beauty.

     Its most original feature, the one which greatly surprises and appeals to
foreigners is "the Pampas"-the plain bare of trees -, looking like a sea of
grazing grass and thistle; the same fields which under the strong gusts of
wind "looked like the waving ocean waters". Even now, in spite of the extended
crop fields, despite the wire fencing and the roads which rake the
countryside, the pampas are still the greatest wonder for the eyes of those
who come to this country. The land mirrors in its vastness the broadness of
the Plata "mouth" (Plata, "silver"), with waters which are said to bear "the
tawny color of lions" that provide a natural boundary for Buenos Aires and
give to the city the view of an infinite horizon.

     All the country features are superlative. In the north there is a thick
forestland in Misiones, where the deep green of the exuberant foliage looks
striking against the natural color of the soil tinted red from its iron
content. Not far from there in an incredibly beautiful background, a broad
river jumps great heights from the plateau creating the most breathtaking
falls, the Iguazu Falls.

     But if instead of going down to the South, the traveller should choose to
turn west, he will be dazzled by the infinite expanse of the plateau-el
Altiplano-with its colorful hills and its snow-capped heights. Going South
from there he will experience in the Andes mountain range all the excitement
of mountain heights, with the Aconcagua-tallest peak outside the Himalayas,
21.000 ft-, the everlasting snows and the mineral wealth the soil treasures
in its core.

     There are also the Cuyo vineyards and the soft rolling hills of Cordoba
amongst murmuring crystal springs; and the forest in Neuquen, with the
"lengas" (Nothofagus pumilio) burning red in the autumn; and the paradisiacal
valleys in the Patagonia, whose fascination seems to be at odds with the
deserted area around them, looking hostile with their spells of gale force
winds, and lastly, in the southern extreme the channels of Tierra del Fuego,
flanked by mountains where rainbows and sea waters gather and disappear
amongst the flight of eagles and albatrosses, looking not so white as dull and
gloomy. Further down there is the Antarctic Continent shrouded in its silence
and its spectral whiteness since the beginning of times.

     Then we find some assets which are unduly left unmentioned because they
are not as impressive, though they are not lacking in charm and splendour; the
wheat fields; the extensions of linseed in bloom looking like wizened waters
from a distance; myriads of flowers which adorn the fields with their bright
colors or hang loosely between branches; the tall and stern trees, the slender
palm trees; the wild animals hiding their fierce nature among shrubs or the
birds spreading their fairy wings in the open. There is the ripened and
seasoned by long exposure to a vigorous sun.

     Is very diverse, with the most contrasting climates. It is worth
mentioning that the total length of the country is over 2.400 miles (from
North to South). If you put the map of Argentina over the Northern Hemisphere,
it would stretch from Yucatan to Newfoundland. The western border runs along
the Andes mountain range. The northern Andes are dry with poor vegetation,
while the southern part is lower, snow-capped and covered with perennial
trees which together with the lakes and valleys make one of the most beautiful
areas in the country. The rest of the country is mostly land flat. Cold, dry
and windy in the South (Patagonia): hot and tropical in the Northeast (Chaco)
and mild and fertile in the center (the Pampas). Some minor mountain ranges
cross these plains. The climate is more humid in the East due to the influence
of the sea winds and the vicinity of great rivers Parana and Uruguay,
enclosing the Mesopotamia, and Rio de la Plata. Outside the pampas,
agriculture can only be developed based on irrigation. Dams have been built to
that purpose, as well as to the generation of electricity (Projects of Rio
Negro Valle, Rio Chubut Valley, Chocon and Alicura reservoirs on the River
Limay, Cabra Corral in Salta, El Nihuil in Mendoza. etc.).

History

     In pre-colombian times the Inca civilization reached the Northwest of
Argentina. Other areas had only scattered nomadic populations, except for the
guarani region in the northeast. Spaniards entered Argentina following three
main paths: the Northern coming from Peru, the Western through Mendoza and
directly from Europe through the Rio de la Plata which first settled in
Asuncion, Paraguay, and later established other cities.

     Patagonia was populated much later, only after military campaigns enable
settlers to establish during the 19th century.

     During Spanish rule, the seat of government was first Lima and later on,
Buenos Aires. The King was represented by a viceroy. Trade was organized under
a monopolistic system; this was, or course, contested by Britain, lord of the
seas and main industrial power at that time. The Portuguese Court in Rio de
Janeiro, with expansionistic ideas, was another source of trouble for the
local authorities. By 1810, the Napoleonic invasion of Spain left both the
metropolis and the colonies without an effective government. This led to the
formation of the first locally elected government, in Buenos Aires on May 25,
1810, in a way similar to the one followed by Mexico,