Enjoy Argentina Nature & Ecology in Argentina

Argentina is a vast nation that geographically divides into eight regions, each determined by a homogenous relief and climate, each one of which is further subdivided in other sub regions according to their most characteristic traits.

THE PAMPAS PLAINS
is an enormous extension of a million 200 thousand square kilometres located in the Northeast of the country and its limits are determined, to the North, by the Pilcomayo, Paraguay and Alto Parana Rivers; to the South, by the Colorado River; and to the West by the foothills of great mountainous massifs. This region, as well, is divided into five sub regions:

- The Chaco Plains. They occupy the North part of the Region and are made up of a group of four morphologic units: the High Chaco, with grounds of coarse sands and lime; the Depressed Chaco, which presents large surfaces occupied by estuaries and flood plains and; the Low Chaco, whose grounds are mainly clay and sand with many floodplains that are bathed by frequent floods and the Fluvial Diagonal of Santiago del Estero with its extensive floodplains.

- The Corrientes Estuary. We here treat with a depressed area. Changes in the relief and the climate determined the formation of estuaries, the most important of these being Iber�, Maloyas, Batel and Santa Luc�a.

- The Pampas Plains. Located to the South of the Region with three groups of low mountain ranges: the Mahuidas, Tandilia and Ventania.

The Pampas Plains are divided into three parts: the Waved Pampas, which present smooth undulations and in which one can find ravines, fluvial terraces and low lands; the Depressed Pampas, with permanent flood plains and the High Pampas, where there are salty lagoons, salt pans and sand dune formations. - Hills between the Rivers. It is located in the East of the Region and to the South of the Corrientes Estuary. Its relief is slightly waved and presents clay grounds and abundant rain falls.

- The Delta Plains. Its islands are formed by the constant deposit of sediment by the Parana River. A slow and permanent process of delta forming determines the constant change of the shape and size of these.

THE SUBTROPICAL PLATEAU
It is located in the North eastern part of Argentina. Its limits coincide with those of Paraguay and Brazil, and it is separated from the Rio de la Plata River Plains by the Aguapey River. Frequent rains have caused with the passage of the years strong erosion which determines the relief in the form of vaults of the plateau. In addition it presents some hills with heights of a thousand metres and rivers that usually display falls and other streams that determine the important hydraulic potential of the Region.

THE NORTHWEST

This region is in the extreme Northwest of the country and is divided into three sub regions:
- The Puna. This extensive plateau exceeds the borders of Argentina and is formed by plateaus that vary between the three thousand and three thousand 500 metres above sea level, the same ones that are separated by the Cordillera Mountain Ranges that characterize the place.

- The Eastern Mountain Range. It presents three different types of mountainous mountain chains, within which we can distinguish between the Western and the Eastern Cordillera; of gorges, of which we can distinguish the one of Humahuaca and the one of Santa Maria-Guachipas; and, finally, the valleys, generally ample and with gentle slopes.

- The Sub Andean Mountain Ranges. Low and parallel mountain ranges, oriented in a North Eastern -South Western direction.

CUYO
This region is located in the Western limit of the country and extends from the South of the Puna to the latitude 37� South. It is basically mountainous and its high summits and snow-covered constants are its fundamental characteristic. In the Main Mountain Range is the Aconcagua, the highest peak on the American continent, with its altitude of 6959 metres above sea level. A foot hills area to the East of the mountain ranges constitutes the level part of the Region whereas its hydrograph presents rivers formed by melt waters, which integrate the Desaguadero (Drainage) in one of the most arid places of the country.

THE PAMPAS MOUNTAIN RANGES
This region is in the centre of the country and occupies part of the Provinces of Tucum�n, Catamarca, La Rioja, Santiago de los Esteros, Cordova, San Luis and San Juan. The zones are characterized by the mountain ranges with low peaks, separated by valleys, fields or hollows. These mountainous chains are the Eastern or the Aconquija, the Southern, the Central or Velasco's, and the Western or the F�tima system.

PATAGONIA
This vast Region is located to the South of the R�o Colorado River, and is divided in two sub regions: - Andean Patagonia. This territory is made up of mountain ranges separated by valleys and lakes, and whose summits are covered by glaciers. - Non Andean Patagonia. It is a varied and complex zone with staggered plateaus, mountainous areas, low lands, depressions and wide river valleys.

THE ARGENTINEAN OCEAN
With a million square kilometres, the Argentinean platform is one of the largest in the world and on which lies the Argentinean Ocean. It presents a progressive widening as it advances towards the South and it has a great similarity with the Andean Patagonia, due to its plateaus in the form of steps. The Malvinas or Falklands Islands are within the Argentinean platform. The Argentinean Sea generally presents a moderate wave pattern and the amplitude of its tides increase towards the South.

THE ARGENTINEAN ANTARCTIC REGION
Being the Southernmost Region of Argentina, it is covered in snow and ice most of the year. The winds, extremely strong, reach speeds of up to 200 kilometres per hour. Parts of this region are the following island groups: The South Orkney Islands, the South Shetland Islands, Deception, Palmer, Biscoe, Belgrano, Elephant, Clarence, Berkner, Portillo and Jaw.

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