ARGENTINA
Argentina is a country in
southern South
America. It
ranks second in
land area in South America, and eighth
in the world."Argentina"
derives from the Latin
argentum (silver).
When the first Spanish conquistadors
discovered the Río
de la Plata, they
named the estuary Mar Dulce ('Sweet Sea', as in a fresh water
sea).
The
first signs
of human presence in
Argentina are located in the Patagonia (Piedra
Museo, Santa
Cruz), and date from 11,000 BC. Around 1 AD, several
corn-based civilizations Andean
region (Santa María, Huarpes, Diaguitas, Sanavirones, among
others). In 1480, the Inca
Empire under
the rule of emperor Pachacutec launched an offensive
and conquered present-day northwestern Argentina, integrating it into a
region called Collasuyu.
In the northeastern area, the Guaraní
developed a culture based
on yuca and sweet potato. The
central and southern areas (Pampas
and Patagonia) were dominated by nomadic
cultures, unified in the seventeenth
century by the Maps.
The
total
surface area of Argentina (not
including the Antarctic claim), is as follows:
Argentina
is nearly 3,700 km long
from north to south, and 1,400 km from east to west (maximum
values). It can roughly be divided into four parts: the fertile
plains
of the Pampas
in the center
the country, the source of Argentina's agricultural wealth;
the flat to rolling,
oil-rich plateau of Patagonia
in the southern half down to Tierra
del Fuego; the
subtropical
flats of the Gran Chaco
in the north, and the rugged Andes
mountain
range
along the western border with Chile.