Argentina

Argentina is a large country in the southern part of South America. It is the eighth-biggest country in the world by land area. Argentina stretches more than 2,300 miles from north to south, which is about the same distance as from New York City to Los Angeles. More than 46 million people live there. The capital city is Buenos Aires.

Argentina has many different landscapes. The Andes Mountains run along the entire western border with Chile. The highest peak in the Andes is Aconcagua, at nearly 23,000 feet. That makes it the tallest mountain in the world outside of Asia. In the center of the country lies a huge, flat grassland called the Pampas. Rich soil there grows wheat, corn, and soybeans, and huge herds of cattle graze on the grass. In the far south is Patagonia, a cold and windy region of deserts, lakes, and glaciers.

One famous spot in Patagonia is the Perito Moreno Glacier. It is a giant river of ice almost 20 miles long. Every so often, huge chunks break off the front and crash into the lake below. In the north, Argentina shares Iguazú Falls with Brazil. The falls are made of 275 separate waterfalls spread across nearly two miles. They are taller and wider than Niagara Falls.

Most people in Argentina speak Spanish. Spain ruled the area from the 1500s until 1816, when Argentina declared independence. After independence, millions of immigrants arrived, mostly from Italy and Spain. That is why Argentine food includes lots of pasta and pizza alongside traditional dishes. The most famous Argentine food is probably the asado, a big cookout where many cuts of beef are grilled slowly over a wood fire.

Argentina is also famous for the tango, a passionate dance that began in the working-class neighborhoods of Buenos Aires in the late 1800s. Soccer, called fútbol there, is the national sport. Argentina has won the men's World Cup three times. Two of its players, Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, are often called among the greatest soccer players in history.

Wildlife in Argentina is as varied as the land. Jaguars and howler monkeys live in the northern jungles. Flamingos wade in salty lakes high in the Andes. The coast of Patagonia has huge colonies of Magellanic penguins, sometimes half a million birds in one spot. Farther south, where Argentina reaches toward Antarctica, the land ends at a town called Ushuaia. It is often called the southernmost city in the world.