Second
in South America only to Brazil in size and population, Argentina is a plain,
rising from the Atlantic to the Chilean border and the towering Andes peaks.
Aconcagua (22,834 ft, 6,960 m) is the highest peak in the world outside Asia.
Argentina is also bordered by Bolivia and Paraguay on the north, and by Uruguay
and Brazil on the east. The northern area is the swampy and partly wooded Gran
Chaco, bordering Bolivia and Paraguay. South of that are the rolling, fertile
Pampas, which are rich in agriculture and sheep- and cattle-grazing and support
most of the population. Further south is Patagonia, a region of cool, arid
steppes with some wooded and fertile sections
