ARGENTINA: PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Argentina is oftenest thought of as a country of broad plains, but
while a large portion of the country is of this character there are
three distinct sections: the Mountains, the Plateau, and the Plains,
with several subdivisions.
MOUNTAINS
We know that the Andes form the western boundary of the country for
the entire distance from north to south, and that some of the loftiest
summits including the highest, Aconcagua, are in Argentine territory;
but east of the great Cordillera, which as already noted is less steep
on this than on the Chilian side, are other ranges of the same and
other systems. Two or three extend from the Bolivian plateau, and
farther down spurs run out from the main chain. In Córdoba are three
ranges separate from the Andes, with one peak above 9000 feet; a peak
in San Luis is over 7000. Near the sea in the Province of Buenos Aires,
are low mountains, mere hills in comparison, one reaching a height of
4000 feet; and in Misiones are spurs from the Brazilian Coast Range,
the highest a hill about 1300 feet.
PLATEAUS
There are plateaus in the north among the mountains, but the
distinctive Plateau Region is in what used to be called Patagonia, a
name not so much employed in Argentina as formerly. This section is
arranged in terraces, falling from the Andes to the east, the western
part called the Plateau, having an altitude of 2000-500 feet; near the
sea it goes from the latter figure to sea level. The Plateau has many
sterile plains, some strewn with boulders, others with dunes of sand;
also good grazing and forest land, and some suitable for farming.
=Lakes.= The Andine lakes in the Patagonia section are of glacial
origin, with much scenic beauty. One of these, Nahuel-Huapi, 40 miles
long, is said to be 1000 feet deep. Lake Buenos Aires, partly in Chile,
is 75 miles long. The lakes number more than 400; at the north are many
swampy lagoons.
PLAINS
The plains, once under the sea, and now for the most part less than
500 feet above it with a very gradual rise from the ocean to the
Andes, extend from the Pilcomayo River, the boundary line with Western
Paraguay, on the north, to the Rio Negro on the south. The northern
part belongs to the Gran Chaco, swampy and partly wooded, with so
slight a southeastward slope that large spaces are regularly flooded
in the rainy season. South of the Bermejo River which is parallel with
the Pilcomayo, the land is higher, some of it 800 feet above the sea,
and the forests are heavier; but there are still marshy lagoons. Then
come open grassy plains with occasional salt pans. The section between
the Paraná and Uruguay Rivers, called the Argentine Mesopotamia, in
Corrientes at the north is of somewhat similar character, but has
higher land in Entre Rios at the south. The remainder of the plain
is the real Pampa, the part west of the Paraná River and below that
extending to the ocean, mainly, treeless and grassy. It includes the
Provinces of Buenos Aires, Santa Fé, Córdoba, San Luis, Mendoza, and
the Territory Pampa Central. In the far west is a depressed region
containing some lakes and swamps with no outlet, but with too little
rain.
RIVERS
The rivers of Argentina are of great importance, being navigable for
immense distances. Chief among them are those of the System of La
Plata, this river being formed by the union of the Paraná and the
Uruguay: a great river indeed, the outflow of water being 80 per cent
more than that of the Mississippi, and the drainage basin covering
1,500,000 square miles. The Paraguay, Pilcomayo, Bermejo, Salado del
Norte, Iguassú, and many others belong to this basin. The Iguassú,
though not navigable except for a mile from the Paraná, is world famed
for its magnificent waterfall, surpassing Niagara in height, width, and
most of the year in volume of water; while it is rendered altogether
incomparable by the extraordinary beauty of its setting.
The =Plata River=, 250 miles long, is much like a gulf, having a width
of over 100 miles at its mouth between Capes Santa Maria in Uruguay
and San Antonio in the Province of Buenos Aires. The Paraná River
with many tributaries has two principal sources well up in Brazil
and a total length of 2600 miles, about one half in or on the border
of Argentine territory. At first flowing south it turns west between
Argentina and Paraguay, and after receiving the Paraguay River again
flows south in Argentina. From January to September, nine months, it is
open to trans-Atlantic steamers to Rosario; for 6000 ton vessels, 12
foot draft, to Paraná or Colastiné, the port of Santa Fé; for smaller
steamers up the Alto Paraná nearly to the Falls of La Guayra, a little
above the northeast extremity of Argentina. Steamers of 7 foot draft go
up the Paraguay to Asunción and smaller steamers to Corumbá in Matto
Grosso, Brazil, 2000 miles from Buenos Aires, and beyond to Cuyabá.
Forty-two miles up stream from Buenos Aires is Ibicuy, a port where a
steam ferry operates, carrying trains to and from Zarate on the Buenos
Aires side.
A few small streams flow into lagoons with no outlet; a number in the
Buenos Aires Province flow into the Atlantic. Farther south are rivers
of more importance, among these the Rio Negro and the Colorado, the
only ones of this section easily and regularly navigable.
CLIMATE
The climate of Argentina naturally varies on account of its wide range
of latitude, as well as from increasing altitude in the mountainous
section. The prevailing winds, the mountain barriers, and the sea
also modify the climate in restricted locations. The conditions of
temperature and rainfall are different from those in the northern
hemisphere. Thus Tierra del Fuego and the south main land are more
habitable than corresponding latitudes in Labrador, partly by reason
of a southern equatorial current; it is an excellent region for sheep
raising. At the same time it is colder than at similar latitudes
of Western Europe, as the prevailing west winds are chilled by the
mountains.
In the Provinces of Buenos Aires, Mesopotamia, and Santa Fé the average
temperature in January is 72°, the maximum 97°-107°; the annual at the
Capital city is 62.6°, farther south 42°. In Buenos Aires it may rain
at any time, but the greatest precipitation is in the summer and fall.
In summer there is a land breeze by day and a sea breeze at night.
The north winds are hot and unhealthful, ending in violent storms.
Southwest winds, the _pamperos_, which are gales, sometimes hurricanes,
are invigorating. The central region has greater extremes of daily
heat and of annual temperature, the widest at Córdoba; Santiago is
the warmest of the Provinces. In the city of Buenos Aires the mercury
in summer may reach 107°; in winter it goes below freezing only a few
times, but there is a peculiar chill in the atmosphere which causes
strong men, who never did so in New York or Boston, to wear heavy
woolen underwear. The country has 200 meteorological stations.