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Argentina is the second-largest country in South America after Brazil. It’s located on what we call the “cono sur” (the southern cone) and it borders Chile, Bolivia, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Brazil. 

It has 1423 km wide (884 miles) and 3694 km large (2295 miles) and some of its natural borders are the Argentine Sea (Atlantic Ocean) and the Andes Mountain Range. 

Now that you know where is located Argentina, maybe you’re wondering more things about this popular country, famous in the world for the important characters that were born here, like Maradona, the Che Guevara and the Pope, its traditional food, the Argentine steak, and the isolated and legendary lands called Patagonia. 

Let’s put the eye on other interesting facts about Argentina.

History: From Spanish Colony to Peronist governments

It’s said that the first to discover America was Cristopher Columbus in 1492, but there were a lot of native people living here before the Spanish explorer arrived. Some of the groups that lived in the Argentian territory were the Mapuches, the Tehuelches, and the Onas far in the south. 

Many wars were fought between the Europeans that came after Columbus and the natives and the result was the creation of a “criollo” government (criollo were called to the children born from a mixed couple, one native and one European). In 1810 this criollo government declared the independence of the República Argentina from the Spanish crown and started his own chapter on history. 

With little changes, Argentina was located more or less as we can see it today on any map. 

The modern history of Argentina was marked by a terrorist dictatorship that lasts from 1976 to 1983 when democracy gets on track again with Rodolfo Alfonsín, a president from the radical Party. After Alfonsin, “Peronism” was born with the presidency of Domingo Perón and the famous Eva Duarte de Perón, best known as “Evita”. 

Peronism is still today one of the most powerful and complex political parties in Argentina, and it’s also a huge social movement that fights for the rights of the working class. The current president of Argentina, Alberto Fernandez, is a Peronist president. 

Argentina, the lands of thousands of landscapes

Argentina is located in a privileged spot in the world where waterfalls cohabitate with deserts, vineyards, and amazing snow-peak mountains. According to the World Wildlife Foundation, Argentina is the 9th country in a group of 150 to have the biggest natural biodiversity. 

There is what we called the north of Argentina, which main provinces are Salta, Jujuy and Tucumán, typically known as the Noroeste Argentino or NOA, the Region Pampeana, right in the middle of the country and neighboring Buenos Aires Province where is the capital of the country, the Mesopotamia, right to the North East where stands the Iguazú Falls, the extensive region of Patagonia and Antarctica. 

Each of these regions is very different and has a unique climate. The NOA characterizes as having high temperatures during the day,  but as many of the cities are in high locations, it gets really cold at night though it never snows. When you travel to Mesopotamia you step into the jungle, so big dramatic humid climate and an explosion of exotic wildlife come to your encounter. About La Pampa, it’s well known that infinite miles of green pastures with cows and sheep are the rule, and Patagonia, well, you can have all the climates in one day (and a lot of snow during Winter). 

Where can I see wildlife?

Wildlife in Argentina is located mostly in Patagonia and Mesopotamia, but you can obviously appreciate typical animals of the North like the llamas or the tatu-carreta (a type of armadillo) in la Pampa, as well as a wide variety of horses born of a time-honored breeding tradition.

If you visit the Iguazú National Park in Mesopotamia you’ll see the coatis, a type of raccoon, and many species of birds and butterflies depending on the season. Insects and a huge variety of trees and uncommon vegetation grow in the misionera jungle, and with them, dangerous spiders and snakes. 

In Mesopotamia, there is also the Iberá Natural Reserve, a paradise for wildlife spotters, and a very adventurous destination to visit and see some really special animals like the marsh deer, the yacaré (a crocodile), the tapir, a big and sweet-face rotten. There are also two fabulous species that were endangered and now recovered thanks to the efforts of the Iberá reserve, the Yaguareté, a splendid big cat, and the Aguará-Guasú, a type of long-leg fox.

Patagonia, on the other hand, is the land of the puma, which can be spotted far into the southern lands. But also of exquisite marine wildlife which the main start is the southern right whale which comes to the Argentine Atlantic Coastline to mate and breed from June to December every year. The Península Valdés, near to the city of Puerto Madryn, is the wildlife natural reserve of Patagonia, where penguins, sea lions, elephant seals, orcas (a smaller black and white whale) coexist in golden beaches with steep cliffs.