Argentina - Location, size, and extent



Argentina Location Size And Extent 1449
Photo by: Richard Laschon

Shaped like a wedge with its point in the south, Argentina, the second-largest country in South America, dominates the southern part of the continent. Argentina is slightly less than three-tenths the size of the United States with a total area of 2,766,890 sq km (1,068,302 sq mi); the length is about 3,650 km (2,268 mi) N S and the width, 1,430 km (889 mi) E W . To the N Argentina is bounded by Bolivia; to the NE by Paraguay; to the E by Brazil, Uruguay, and the Atlantic Ocean; and to the S and W by Chile, with a total boundary length of 9,665 km (6,006 mi).

Argentina lays claim to a section of Antarctica of about 1,235,000 sq km (477,000 sq mi). Both Argentina and the UK claim the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), with the UK exercising effective occupancy. In 1978, Argentina almost went to war over three Chilean-held islands in the Beagle Channel. The case was referred to papal mediation; on 29 November 1984, the two countries signed a treaty that confirmed Chile's sovereignty over the three islands.

Argentina's capital city, Buenos Aires, is located along the eastern edge of the country on the Atlantic coast.

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