astline of 2,936 miles (www.infoplease.lycos.com) Argentina also claims a portion of Antarctica, as well as several islands in the South Atlantic, including the British - ruled Falklands (Islas Malvinas). It is bounded by Chile on the south and west, Bolivia and Paraguay on the north, and Brazil, Uruguay, and the Atlantic Ocean on the east. The southern most town in the world, Ushuaia, is situated in Argentina.The first people to settle Argentina were the farming American Indians. Next, Colonists from Spain and other parts of South America settled the country from the 16th through the 18th centuries. Emigrants from many European countries, including Italy and Germany, settled Argentina in the last part of the 19th century and the first quarter of the 20th. This immigration made Argentina a place where the poor of Europe could earn a decent living by farming wheat, corn, oilseeds, fruits, and nuts, and by also raising cattle in the Pampas. The Pampas are the flat, fertile plains in the east central region of the country, allowing for Argentina to become "one of the world's chief exporters of food and agricultural products" (Encyclopedia Britannica 359)."South of the Colorado River is Patagonia, the largest region of Argentina. It extends from the Pampa to Tierra del Fuego and was named in 1520 by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, while sailing for Spain, on his trip around the world." (www.interknowledge.com/argentina.html) The landscape is dominated by the Andes in the west and plateaus that stretch eastward to the Atlantic, forming cliffs along much of the shoreline. The climate is dry and windy, thus making it unfertile and unsuitable for major farming, except in its southern most parts where precipitation is increased.Historically, Argentina has repeatedly been subjected to rule by a "caudillo" figure, a strong leader, often of the military, who dominated the nation usually until he was disposed or died. However, in 1853, ...
