NEED FOR UNDERSTANDING CONDITIONS IN SOUTH AMERICA Few Americans realize that Brazil is larger than continental United States and has climates, soils, and natural resources almost as varied; that Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay have large areas of rich, virgin prairie soils in a temperate climate not yet brought under cultivation; that in Argentina a vigorous white race is developing under conditions similar to those which prevailed in the United States west of the Mississippi River 30 years or more ago; that Argentina is already competing with the United States in the world markets with her cheap corn, wheat, flaxseed, meats, wool, and dairy products; that in northern Argentina, Paraguay, and southern Brazil it is possible that a cotton-growing industry will eventually develop equal to that of the United States; that these countries produce grapes, citrus, and other fruits of the finest quality which lack only transportation facilities and organization to compete with those of the United States; that great modern cities and industries are springing up and developing rapidly; that the people of these countries are as proud of their history and of their progress as are the people of the United States; and that just as the history of civilization and progress has been much the same during the last four centuries in all countries of North and South America and their interests have been and are much the same, so we may expect that in the future much of the marvelous development that has taken place in the United States during the last half century will, to a considerable extent, be duplicated in the temperate regions of South America. POSITION AND SIZE OF ARGENTINA 2 Argentina is wedge-shaped, broad at the north and tapering to a point at the south. It extends from 22° to 55° south latitude, a difference of 33°, or more than 2,000 miles north and south; and from 56° to 73° of longitude west from Greenwich, a difference of 17°, or about 1,000 miles in the widest part at the north, and tapering to a width of about 150 miles in the extreme south. The position of the sun, the occurrence of the seasons, and the climate are just the reverse of those in the Northern Hemisphere. The southermost limit of Tierra del Fuego is in the same latitude in the Southern Hemisphere as the middle of Labrador, Hudson Bay, Lake Winnipeg, the middle of British Columbia, the southern part of Alaska, and the middle of Bering Sea in the Northern Hemisphere. The northern limit of Argentina south of the Equator corresponds with the parallel of latitude north of the Equator which runs north of the island of Haiti, through the middle of Cuba, skirts the northern border of Yucatan, and crosses the southern part of Mexico. Argentina is separated from Chile on the west by a frontier more than 2,500 miles long, mostly in the Andes Mountains, and to the east from the mouth of the La Plata River to the southern extremity of Tierra del Fuego it has a sea-coast line of approximately 2,600 miles. The area of Argentina is approximately 1,153,000 square miles. It is therefore a little more than one-half the size of the United States 2 The correct Spanish pronunciation of Argentina is "Ar-ken-teena"; the "g" is sounded like a "" and the "i" like "ee" with the accent on the "i." boundary is mountainous and the eastern half is extremely flat with many lagoons and marshes. MOUNTAINS THE ANDEAN REGION On the west the Andes Mountains extend north and south for a distance of more than 2,500 miles and into the interior for varying distances from 50 to 250 miles. The whole Andean Range is elevated and sterile on the east side, except for about 500 miles at the south where the range is lower, permitting the moisture-laden winds from the Pacific to cross. The resulting precipitation in this section has caused the formation of numerous mountain lakes and the growth of heavy timber. MOUNTAINS OF THE PAMPA (LAS SIERRAS PAMPEANAS) This system of mountains occupies a region in northwestern Argentina approximately 350 miles north and south and 100 miles or more east and west. It lies east of the Andean range and north of the central portion of Argentina. It is a semitropical and semiarid region. The highest peaks show very little snow and practically no vegetation. Between the mountains are low, narrow deserts, sometimes with marshy areas and a few salt lagoons. Perhaps the most interesting mountains of Argentina are the Sierras of Cordoba near the center of the country. These are generally low, below 5,000 feet in height, and many of them are partly clothed with vegetation. SIERRAS DE BUENOS AIRES The lowest of the mountain systems of Argentina is found in the southern portion of the Province of Buenos Aires about 250 miles from the capital city and 30 to 50 miles from the coast. There are two low ranges, one to the east near the coast at Mar del Plata, and the other north of Bahia Blanca. Both ranges extend in a southeast and northwest direction and are only about 15 miles wide and not. over 50 miles long. They are made up of low hills, table-lands, granite peaks, and ridges, almost destitute of vegetation and usually only a few hundred feet in height. OTHER ELEVATIONS In the Province of Entre Rios, across the La Plata and Parana Rivers from Buenos Aires, there are many low hills; and in the Territory of Misiones in northeastern Argentina next to Brazil and Paraguay there are high hills up to 1,200 feet. Generally speaking, the rest of Argentina is flat. In general appearance the mountains of Argentina are gray barren slopes of disintegrated rock, devoid of vegetable or animal life, except in the Provinces of Cordoba, Tucuman, Salta, and Jujuy, where there is some green vegetation, and the monotonous gray is broken by variegated red, yellow, and green clays and rocks. |