Argentina
Argentina is the second country of South America in extends: along almost 3.800 kilometers. It limits with Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia and Chile.
Due to its great extension, Argentina, offers a countless amount of different landscapes. There is a huge contrast between the vast eastern plains and the outstanding Andes mountain range in the west, with the highest peak of America and highest peak outside Asia: the Aconcagua, with 6.959 meters.
Along its extension from Jujuy to Tierra del Fuego, the mountain range desplays a wonderful diversity of landscapes: from the deserted northeastern high plateaus, with valleys, ravines and colorful bills, to the Patagonia region with lakes, forests and glaciers.
To the north, the Chaco is wooded area connected to the Bermejo, Salado and Pilcomayo Rivers. Bracketed by the Paraná and Ururguay Rivers, the Argentine Mesopotamia (Provinces of Entre Rios, Corrientes and Misiones) is composed of low hills, small lakes, and marshes which indicate the ancient course of these rivers. In some areas, inside the sub-tropical jungle, there are fractures which give rise to incredible phenomena such as the Iguazú Falls.
In the center of Argentina, the Pampa region is the widest and best know plain. It is an agricultural and livestock raising area and comprises the Province of Buenos Aires, the northeastern part of the province of La Pampa, southern Códoba and Santa Fe. To the south, the landscape is interrupted by the Tandil and La Ventana hill and to the west by the Córdoba hills.
From the Andes to de sea, the vast extension of sterile and rocky Patagonian plateaus is lashed by strong winds most of the year. The Atlantic coastline, bordered by high cliffs, portrays widing shapes, such as the Valdés Peninsula, having a grest variety of animals.
In 2007 the population of the country was 39.356.000, 3 million of whom inahbitat the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, together with the metropolitan region or “Greater Buenos Aires”, the population amounts to 14.2 million.
Around 85% of the population is of European origins. Unlike most of the other Latin American countries, Argentina has relatively few original in habitants. Between 1850 and 1940 approximately 6.608.700 Europeans arrived to Argentina, predominantly Spanish an Italians, although many French, British, Germans, Polish, Syrian and immigrants from the other Latin American countries also migrated to the country. Recently the country has welcomed Asian immigrants.
The city of Buenos Aires has a strong European style which can be appreciated in its buildings, facades and public spaces. This is contrasted by the modern architecture developed during the last years, with impressive skyspers by the Rio de la Plata.
The official languaje is Spanish. However, Argentineans differ from other Spanish speakers in the use of an entirely different second person singular pronoun (“vos” instead of “tú”) for informal treatment and the use of “che” to address toother people.
English and Portuguese ar spoken by most of the people involved in the tourist industry; and “porteños” often have no trouble in understanding Italian speakers.
The National Constitution, passed in 1853, was lastly modified in 1994. The new Constitution maintains the federal governement division into three powers: executive, legislative and judicial. The Executive Power is vestes in the President and Vice-President of the Argentine Republic, holding office for a four-year term. They are directly elected by the people and may be reelected for only one consecutive term.
